Pinky, Voltron and The Brain
by KittyLynne
Summary: Co-written with The Bandit. The Brain's plan leads him and his sidekick Pinky to Arus and Voltron. In befriending the Voltron Force, The Brain feels he has the perfect scheme to attain the technology he needs to achieve world domination on Earth. But what happens when Pinky runs afoul of the Prince and Witch of Doom? And will Keith and Allura ever confess their love?
1. Chapter 1

**Pinky, Voltron & the Brain**

**A Crossover Literary Work of Shameless Fandom**

_**By KittyLynne and The Bandit**_

_Voltron and all associated characters are owned and copyrighted by WEP. Original/new characters belong to the author. 'Pinky and the Brain' belongs to Warner Brothers/Amblin Entertainment and Mr. Rogers belongs to himself. Other relative disclaimers may apply to obscure references to other shows._

Author's Note: A word of explanation may be needed here.

Voltron is a circa 1990s cartoon hybrid created by World Events Productions from two separate Japanese SciFi animes, Go Lion and Dairugger. The two series featured different forms of a mighty mecha robot called Voltron, which was used to defend worlds under siege from the corrupt and evil Drule empire. This story focuses on the Lion Version of Voltron, in which heavy editing of the original material and a new script made it suitable for kids and American TV, but enough hints of much more adult content remained for it to enable it to find an older audience as well.

'Pinky and the Brain' is a circa 1990s, funny and witty cartoon that first appeared in Steven Spielberg's 'Animaniacs' on the WB network before eventually spinning off into their own show. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the characters, in the words of their own theme song, they are: "Pinky and the Brain, Pinky and the Brain, one is a genius, the other is insane! They're laboratory mice, whose genes have been spliced..." The Brain's ultimate ambition is to rule the world; he concocts elaborate schemes to achieve world domination by using different aspects of our culture to impart his message; anything from pop idols to Shakespeare has been used to his advantage, which results in some hilarious spoofs. The goofy Pinky is his incompetent but very loyal and eager sidekick in these schemes. Even though Pinky's incessant babble often drives Brain crazy, and even though Brain's Schemes for World Domination inevitably fail, the two mice stick together and never, ever give up.

Which brings us to our story...

**Chapter 1 **

**_Planet Arus: 5:00 a.m._**

Dawn's pinkish hues illuminated the impressive silhouette of the Castle of Lions; the steel gray fortress took on warmth as the first lazy rays of the sun appeared over the horizon. The burgeoning light soon touched the lands around the Castle, highlighting the meadows that were liberally dotted with symmetrically rounded trees of equal height and breadth. The rear of the palace was also revealed, including the flawlessly formed lake that was glimmering in front of the manicured courtyards. The gardens were filled with impeccably maintained flowers that stretched open their petals in worship of the rising sun.

Graceful, pillared structures that Earth dwellers would find reminiscent of ancient Greece emerged from shadow as the sparkling rays blanketed them. The emerald green grass that grew on the sharply angled hill on which the buildings rested took on new verve as wildlife began to stir. Small, shy bunnies emerged from their burrows to hop to and fro, little songbirds trilled a catchy melody, and gentle does and their fawns romped in the meadows.

Another perfect, sunny day on Planet Arus. All was peaceful, all was quiet.

Which is exactly why our story doesn't start there.

**_Planet Earth: 8:05 PM_**

The inner city building had been condemned, but that didn't bother its occupants. Acme Labs hadn't earned their results-with-minimal-cost-to-the-client reputation by being frivolous with a buck. The humungous letters of the blinking neon sign that crowned the dilapidated laboratory jutted into the stormy night, providing an excellent allegory for what occurred inside the structure; rare flashes of brilliance mixed with the inevitable power failure due to low wattage.

Tonight the sign spelled 'ACE BS'.

The scientists corralled within the lab's dingy walls scurried about, performing their assigned duties, which consisted of experimenting on field mice collected by ACME Pest Control, and then watching the resulting mutations go about their business. Everything about these mice had to be carefully recorded as data. Data was a scientist's best friend, data was their bread and butter, as long as they provided data of any kind for the Big Man, they all had jobs.

Eventually, the eight o'clock bell sounded, ending the labors of the evening shift. The white-coated humans simultaneously dropped their clipboards and exited en masse, speedily departing their world of test tubes, rodents, and paperwork for the comforts of home. The door slammed, and a morgue- like silence fell over the room, broken only by the sporadic sound of a squeaky exercise wheel.

"Pavlovian imbeciles! Once again they've left the place a wreck," muttered a cultured voice. It came from a cage far above the others in the lab. "But at least I have some peace!"

A steel cage door swung open, and the misshapen mouse the scientists had dubbed 'The Brain' crawled out of confinement with a thankful sigh. As soon as he was free of the pen, he stood on hind legs on the laboratory table and placed his fore paws in the small of his white, furry back, stretching it out with pleasure. His grossly oversized cranium almost overbalanced him for a moment, but he managed to stay upright as he completed his exercises, his abnormally tiny body making little pops and cracking noises.

"Ahhh, it feels good to stand. To have to regress to such primitive measures to get around is abhorrent." The mouse grumbled, his perpetual scowl deepening with contempt. "Four-footed locomotion should be reserved for inferior creatures...like dogs, cats and rats."

"Zort! I say Brain, is that you?" A loud voice liberally laced with a Scottish burr piped through the bars of a nearby cage. "Are you there?"

"No, Pinky, this is Mr. Rogers." The Brain replied with trademark sarcasm as he strolled over to the ledge that overlooked the enclosure directly below his.

"Ooooo, really? _The_ Mr. Rogers? The 'oh, won't you be my neighbor' Mr. Rogers?!" The happy voice trembled with excitement. A pink nose bracketed by two large eyes and a buck toothed grin suddenly appeared between the cage bars. Two extremely outsized ears quivered in ecstasy on either side of the broadly grinning face. "Oh Mr. Rogers, I'm a big fan of yours...poit!...are you here to play land of make believe with me, please? Oh, I simply love King Friday, and Prince Tuesday, and Daniel..."

"Pinky, your inability to grasp the obvious never fails to astound me," the big- headed rodent answered, wearily. "Are you coming out of your cage or did you forget how to open your door?"

"No, Mr. Rogers, I didn't! Look! I can do it by myself now! Look!" The gangly mouse whipped open his cage door with a flourish and scurried over to his friend, eagerly glancing around and then up. "Oh hi, Brain! Where's Mr.- "

"Not here," The Brain cut him off, speaking in simple sentences as he jumped down to join his comrade. "Never was here."

"Oh," Pinky's face fell, then brightened. "Mr. McFeely?"

"Not here either."

"King Friday-"

"No."

Pinky's lower lip quivered. "The trolley? The trolley isn't here?" He asked pitifully, his eyes starting to water.

"Pinky, this is not the land of make believe! We are the only ones present in this godforsaken hellhole, and we have a job to do, so you must get over it, please!" Seeing that Pinky was still downcast, The Brain added, "Mr. Rogers values hard workers who don't pout."

Pinky was immediately distracted from his sulk. "Work? Oh goody, I love work!" He clapped his front paws together.

~_The attention span of a flea at a dog show_.~ The Brain thought despairingly. Good thing Pinky made the perfect lackey, or he would be tempted to personally put the addled rodent in the crowded rat cage experiment.

"What are we going to do tonight, Brain?" His dimwitted counterpart inquired excitedly.

"The same thing we do every night, Pinky." The mousy genius replied. "We are going to TAKE OVER THE WORLD!"

Pinky danced around in delight. "Oooo goody! How are we going to do it this time?"

"Well, up until a minute ago I hadn't a clue," the Brain admitted, "but your inane prattle has actually given me a brilliant idea."

"That's nice, Brain. But I haven't named a prattle since I was a baby," Pinky informed him gravely.

"Never mind, Pinky. What I am saying is that we will use make- believe to take over the world!"

"Splendid! Will King Friday be our ruler?"

"Wha-NO! Forget about Rogers!" The Brain bellowed, then calmed himself. "You must focus, Pinky; gather those genetically scattered wits of yours. We are going to use the beloved world of animation to send a subliminal message to the earth's population to worship The Brain, a message they will not, cannot resist. All that remains is to choose a suitable television venue to use in our plan."

"Does that mean I get to watch cartoons again?" Pinky asked, with a hopeful grin.

"Yes, I do believe that would be the best way to choose. Now that I have installed the satellite dish on the roof, we have 540 channels to pick from."

"Naaarrrf! That's amazing, Brain! I'll go get the remote! Zort!"

"You do that," his friend replied, with a sigh of relief that Pinky had actually mastered that task. "I'll wheel out the big screen television."

The two mice went their separate ways, Pinky to the remote, The Brain to the huge closet that contained the television and the 'Big Suit', a headless, life size mechanical body he had built for any of his world domination schemes that required him to appear human. He managed to pull the TV cart out without dislodging the suit, and wheeled it to the nearest power source.

Soon the T.V. was on and the two laboratory mice were seated on the table in front of it, eyes avidly fixed on the screen.

The first channel showed an animated gray cat and large- headed brown mouse wrecking havoc on a house and each other. Pinky chortled in glee as the cat's face took on the shape of the steam iron that had flattened it.

"Ah yes...the classics..." The Brain intoned thoughtfully. "The mouse had the right idea, but his ambition is limited to a lowly cat. A good looking fellow too, but what a pitiful waste of talent. Switch channels, Pinky!"

The intellectually impaired mouse leaped to his feet and jumped up and down on the channel changer. Now the screen showed a tuxedo- clad mouse and a duck in nautical type garb having a very animated conversation. The duck was spitting and sputtering unintelligibly as the mouse calmly listened to his tirade.

"Not much to go on here," The Brain muttered.

"Yes, but isn't Mikey Mouse a sharp dresser?" Pinky sighed wistfully. "It almost makes me wish that I wore clothes."

"Mikey Mouse...honestly Pinky! It's 'Mickey Mouse', the internationally recognized Icon and head of a powerful conglomerate of companies!" The Brain shook his head in disgust. "I must say that it is simply amazing to me that such a banal but amiable personality could be running a corporation that has come so very close to the objective I have been trying to achieve."

"The Duck is funny," Pinky laughed heartily. "I like him."

"Just change the channel, please," The Brain sighed.

"Aw..."

"Do it, Pinky!"

The channel flipped, and suddenly a dog and four humans appeared on the screen. One female in horn-rimmed glasses was speaking animatedly. "Jinkies, it's the ghost!"

"No meddling kids! Move on, Pinky!"

"Velma, I hardly knew ye," Pinky whispered sadly, as he hopped.

"Yabba dabba-"

"The Stone Age, I don't think so!" The Brain snorted. "Change it, Pinky!"

"Oh Bother, Piglet, I think I'm-"

"Stuffed with fluff! Change!"

"Eh, what's up, Doc?"

"My blood pressure! Next!"

"Ji-ga-lee-puff..."

"Oh good lord...NEXT!"

"Good thing I work out on the wheel as much as I do," Pinky gasped, continuing to jump.

Channel after channel went by, and The Brain felt himself falling into the depths of despair. Were all American cartoons full of inanity and mindless violence, appealing to the most base common denominators? What about originality and intelligence? How could he hope to win people over to his side with countless falling anvils, singing chipmunks, a duck hunter with a speech impediment, or a pudgy cat that slept and ate lasagna?

Finally, there was only one option left; a network that showed cartoons imported or adapted from Japanese animation. What could the Japanese offer that good old American ingenuity had overlooked or hadn't watered down beyond recognition?

But then, when all hope was all but gone, stirring music spilled into the room and the screen was suddenly filled with the impressive form of a lion-headed mechanical warrior that was, the announcer informed them, "a mighty robot, loved by good, and feared by evil."

"By the powers that b, it looks very much like the design of my Big Suit," The Brain gasped. "Take a break Pinky."

"Poit." Said Pinky, plunking down on his hindquarters. "Thank goodness." He sighed, then perked up. "Oh lookie, lookie! It's the Defender of the Universe!"

"Indeed." The Brain muttered. "Indeed..."

They watched as the Robot formed his blazing sword and various other weapons to defeat ugly mechanical monsters. The Brain noted with astonishment that the warrior was made of five separate parts, flown by five pilots; four men and one woman. The humans were shown in split screens from time to time, exchanging information and banter.

"The Princess is so lovely." Pinky sighed. "I'm pretty sure she and Captain Keith-he's the mullet guy in red flight suit and white go go boots- are in love, even though Lance flirts with her! She has kissed Lance on the cheek a few times, but I don't think it means anything because Keith and Allura always look at each other in the most amazing ways, and they always are shown together. But Keith is very quiet about it, because he's not a Prince, not that it matters, mind you, although that horrid Nanny makes it seem like it does, although I think she changed her mind after Keith took a slash in the chest to defend the Princess' honor, and she was so upset she sat by his bed the entire time until the Robeast attacked, and she went to protect him, and then he came out of his coma just in time to help save her and defeat the monster." Pinky sucked in a deep breath and his goofy grin turned wistful. "Ain't love grand, Brain? Even though they never say it, you just know they-"

The Brain interrupted his friend's semi-coherent babbling. "It's called subtext, Pinky. And I take it that you have watched this show more than once?"

"Poit! Oh yes, many times! I love the adventures of the Voltron Force, although there are some really icky poo poo people on it that want to destroy them and capture the Diamond Galaxy and ruin the Alliance, then there's that evil Prince Lotor who is always after Princess Allura, ooo, he makes me so mad!" The gangly body bristled with repressed ire. "It would be so marvelous if they would let Captain Keith really smack that Lotor a good one, Zort!"

"Yes, yes, whatever. I am more interested in their Big Suit, Pinky. It looks practically invincible, and all the people on the show seem to admire or fear it greatly." The Brain's myopic eyes grew wide as he saw the mechanical man standing on a pedestal in front of cheering, flower- throwing throngs of people. "Look Pinky! Look how they worship the Big Head Lion Suit!"

Pinky giggled. "Oh Brain, you silly-willy, it's not called Big Head Lion Suit! It's Voltron, Defender of the Universe, or V:DOTU for short."

"Voltron, eh?" The final credits were now rolling, and The Brain was disappointed. "Over already? Oh, to have seen more, my loquacious friend, I feel that we could have learned much."

Pinky beamed and clapped his paws together. "You're in luck! It's Wednesday, and every Wednesday they run a Voltron mini-marathon! Wait until you see the Castle of Lions, and how get to the lion ships before they form Voltron!"

The Brain raised his tiny fists in triumph. "Yeeesssss! I foresee great potential in this show. Let the marathon begin!"

**Six hours later... **

The Brain, still murmuring excitedly to himself, had filled an entire notebook with specs on the Defender of the Universe. Finally, he threw his pencil down in triumph.

"That's it! If my calculations are correct, Pinky, we can modify the exoskeleton of our very own Big Suit to emulate that of Voltron in its functionality."

"Why do we want to do that Brain?" The pink nosed mouse whimpered as his gaze remained fixed on the screen. "You know quite well that I'm afraid of extra scary skeletons, Narf!"

"Oh for the love of..." his friend sighed loudly and rolled his eyes. "Don't make me hurt you, Pinky. I was referring to the structure of the Big Suit. There will be no extra skeletons, scary or otherwise. "

"Okay," was the distracted reply.

"Here is my plan in a rudimentary, yet effective nutshell." The Brain stated. "We will alter the Big Suit to resemble Voltron, go to Japan to fight some giant monsters and save Tokyo from certain destruction. Since the Japanese are severely depressed over their latest economic decline, they will love us and will reward us for bringing them security by giving us our own show along with rights to mass merchandising."

"Uh huh." Said Pinky vaguely. "That sounds interesting."

"So much more than that! In the daily program, we will be shown performing heroic deeds, attending school, working hard and setting a good example of citizenship, thereby ingratiating ourselves into the hearts of all Japanese. At the end of every show, when they do the monologue, we will insert our own subliminal message to make me their leader! To control Japan, is to control of one of the seven world economic powers! Once our series hits syndication, we will then export our show around the globe, along with our message, and in no time at all we take over the world!"

Unable to contain himself, The Brain chortled with wicked and prolonged glee.

"Quiet!" Pinky shushed him with emphatic and completely unexpected urgency.

The Brain stopped chortling and glared. "What could possibly be more important than my brill-"

Pinky interrupted. "There's a K & A moment coming up soon."

The Brain scowled. "What, pray tell, is a 'K & A' moment?"

"Keith and Allura, silly, remember? I just know that one of these days he's going to kiss her!"

"Really Pinky, one of these days I'm going to...wait!" The Brain pointed at the screen excitedly. "Those small red eyed creatures, who are they?"

"Narrrffff...oo, those are the Space Mice; they are the special friends of the Princess!" Pinky explained happily.

"What is that contraption they are flying?"

"It's their version of a lion ship. Pidge, the Green Lion pilot built it." Pinky shook his head. "The boy genius meant well, but why did he make it so they have to pedal it to get it to fly, poor little guys! With all the fancy gizmos and gadgets, why would he give them a bicycle powered ship? Don't you find that odd, Brain?"

But the Brain wasn't listening, he was pondering. "Experienced pilots, eh? We are going to need recruits that are experienced in combat for our knockoff- I mean, our personal version of Voltron." The Brain scratched his head. "And you say these mice are very close to the Princess of , uh...uh..."

"Planet Arus," Pinky supplied helpfully. "She already rules a world."

"Yes, yes, of course she does. And so will we, once we would have an inside way to get more complete information on the lions' infrastructure; I must admit I am a little vague on the concept of dynotherms and infracells." The Brain watched closely as the Space Mice were rewarded with cheese for a job well done. "Ah, Pinky, this is excellent! They will work for food! Are you pondering what I'm pondering?"

His skinny friend looked pensive. "I think so Brain, but no matter how much he has the hots for her, Lance will never pursue Allura because Keith is his best friend and it would hurt him badly. Oh look, the Princess is on again, isn't she beautiful?"

The Brain was too busy concentrating on his plan to look. Striding over to the remote, he switched off the television, and began to quickly disassemble the apparatus.

"You took her away! Why, Brain, why?" The besotted rodent wailed pitifully.

"Cool your mega-thrusters, Pinky, you'll be seeing her in person if this works."

"I _will_?" The tall mouse now wore a look of rapture. "Oh joyous day!"

"But it won't happen if you don't get to work!"

"Yes sir, Brain! Right away Brain!"

With Pinky now fully engaged in the task, lttle paws flew as they wired and re-wired the remote. The last step was to hook it to the surveillance camera mounted nearby.

"I will really get to meet her?" Pinky clapped his paws together as he watched the Brain hooked up various cables and wires to the video camera. "Oh, that would be even more wonderful than meeting Mr. Rogers and taking a ride on the trolley."

The Brain finished the last connections and gave a sigh of satisfaction. "Yes, that should do it, now we must get this to the Big Suit. With all the technology that they have lying around on Planet Arus, I can modify the suit there for next to nothing."

"Zort! You mean-"

"Yes, Pinky, we are going to Planet Arus via my Network Trans Warp Modifier! What was once unattainable as fantasy will become the ultimate reality show!"

"But t-that m-means..." Pinky would have gone pale if he hadn't already been white. "That means..."

"Breaking our contract by going to another network? I know, and I don't care."

"Not just that! Zort! It's against the rules of animation, Brain! We'll get in big trouble!"

"Once I am ensconced as ruler of this world, I will pardon us."

Pinky folded his arms and stuck his nose in the air. "I don't care. It's wrong and I won't do it!"

The Brain folded his arms and tapped a foot. "Let me put it another way. Do you want to see your precious Princess or not?"

"Oh yes! I'll get the Big Suit!"

The Brain shook his head as the hyperactive rodent ran for the closet. It was way too easy sometimes. True love and romance was for idiots, and Pinky was their poster boy.

The suit was rolled out and set into position. The Brain entered through the open toed shoe, carrying the remote, with Pinky at his heels. Brain immediately sped to the top of the suit, sat in the captain's chair and stuck his head out of the large neck hole. He knew, of course, that his head was way too small in scope for the body it topped, but no one had seemed to notice this deformity on previous adventures, so he saw no reason to change it.

Pinky's plaintive tones rose up from the bowels of the suit. "Brain, why do I have to sit way down here? I can't see or touch anything!"

"That's the idea," the Brain muttered to himself. Aloud he said, "It's only for a few minutes, my friend. Isn't it worth it to meet the lovely Princess?"

"Naaarrrffff," was the dreamy sounding response.

"I'll take that as a yes. Hang on Pinky, we are ready to proceed."

"All right! " Pinky yelled. "Let's go, Big Suit Force!"

"Indeed," The Brain said. Switching on the television by remote, he then pressed the channel changer, and a few seconds short of instantly the Big Suit and its two rodent occupants were transformed into pixels of light that were sucked straight into the verdant, scenic Arusian countryside depicted on the screen.

**To be continued!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Pinky, Voltron & the Brain**

**A Crossover Literary Work of Shameless Fandom**

_By KittyLynne and The Bandit_

**Chapter 2 **

**Planet Arus: 5:05 am **

The appearance of five lion ships was as appreciated by the residents of Arus as the sun and blue sky of the dawning day. The ships flew above the landscape, close enough for people to feel safe, and high enough not to disturb the peaceful ambiance of the morning.

"Can someone tell me why I was dragged out of my nice warm bed at this ungodly hour?" Hunk grumbled as he maneuvered Yellow Lion into formation. "We kicked their butts but good, so it's not like Doom is waiting for us around the corner."

"Nanny is planning a special breakfast for us after drills in honor of our latest victory!" Pidge consoled his friend. "So cheer up big guy!"

"As well she should!" Another voice interjected with a cackle. "It's gonna be a heck of a challenge for Hagar to find and grow any more RoBeasts after what we did to the last ones."

"You said it, Lance! Those giant anti-lazon enemas were just what the doctor ordered; the RoBeasts on Doom will be running on empty for days!" Hunk declared with glee.

"All well and good, but we're out here because we can't afford to be complacent." The ever-somber Captain Keith said firmly, ignoring the chorus of disgruntled grumbles that greeted his statement. "We can't let down our guard. Who knows what evil magic Hagar has put away for emergencies?"

"Or what evil Prince Lotor might have up his sleeve," a sweet feminine voice added uneasily, putting an end to further grumbling. "He never seems to give up."

"Don't worry Princess, you know that I-that _we_ won't let that creep lay a hand on you!" Keith vowed earnestly. On screen, his strong jaw was set with determination, and his dark eyes flashed with intensity. Protectiveness oozed from his every pore. Or perhaps it was just sweat. "He doesn't stand a chance!"

Lance rolled his eyes at Hunk and Pidge's images on his view screens. Everyone was very aware that the pilot of Black Lion would do anything to keep the Lothario Lotor from having his way with Allura, he had said so several times in and out of battle.

"So brave!" Allura gushed. "So noble! I don't know how I can ever thank you for all you've done for me, Keith, or any of you boys, for that matter."

"I can think of a way for you to thank me, Princess," Lance told her in a helpful tone. "It involves you and me and some cheesecake."

Keith glared at the smirking Red Lion pilot on his screen with narrowed dark eyes that smoldered with suppressed emotion. "No cheesecake."

"It was just a thought," his friend shrugged. "Can't blame a guy for trying."

"Yes, I can." Keith stated. "I can definitely blame you."

Hunk spoke up. "Jeez, Keith, it sounds to me like you're kinda jea-"

"Why don't you want Lance to have cheesecake, Keith?" The pilot of Blue Lion broke in, her voice sounding reproachful. "I'd be happy to get him some if that is what he likes."

Lance turned to look at Allura with an innocent smile on his handsome face. "That'd sure be swell. Do you know what my very favorite kind of cheesecake is, Princess?"

"Please tell me." She replied, returning his smile warmly.

The Red Lion pilot's smile broadened to epic proportions. "Royal cherry. It's the best-"

"Enough, Lance!" The Captain abruptly cut off his second-in command.

Allura protested, "Keith, you're being so harsh."

The Black Lion pilot's eyes closed for a brief moment as unnamed emotion sliced through him. "Princess, please. You don't understand. Lance was making a inappropriate joke, the kind Terrans call a double entrendre."

"A sexual joke with a hidden meaning? I do know about those!" Allura declared with spirit. "I don't think it applies to this situation. What hidden meaning or ambiguity can be found in enjoying any variety of cheesecake? If Lance thinks royal cherry is the best kind, I am sure I can procure some for him."

Distinct choking noises could be heard coming over the Red, Green and Yellow Lion intercom systems, but Allura appeared not to notice. She smiled into her viewer, meeting her commander's bewildered stare, then blinked as she saw him shift uncomfortably in his seat. Comprehension dawned, and her expression became apologetic. "Oh dear. I've slighted you, haven't I, left you 'out in the cold', as I believe your Terran expression goes. Do you like royal cherry too, Keith? Or would you prefer a different kind?"

"Uh...well..." The Voltron Captain stammered. He felt the sweat break out on his forehead and wondered if it would turn to vapor as his face grew ever hotter. The thought made him cut off his visual connection to the other lions, just for a moment, so he could recoup his composure. With one unsteady hand, he wiped his visor, which was rapidly fogging up, all the while trying to think of an appropriate, or at the very least, matter of fact explanation for Allura of how this specific flavor would qualify as a double entrendre.

Dammit, he couldn't think of any.

"Cat got your tongue, Keith?"

Over the comm, Lance was openly chortling. Hunk's deep chuckles and Pidge's snickers also could be heard.

"Keith? Did you copy? "Allura was sounding slightly vexed. "Would you want the royal cherry cheesecake? If you don't, just say so, and I'll give your piece to someone else!"

Keith winced as deafening laughter crackled over the system. This conversation was wiping out all hope of being able to focus on the exercise at hand.

He needed help.

~_Good King Alfor!_~ He prayed desperately. ~_I really could use some help here. Your daughter's virtue might be at stake!_~

As if in reply, an alarm going off on his console mercifully diverted everyone's attention.

"I'm picking up an anomaly on long range sensors, Chief." Pidge spoke up, moving various levers and switches.

"What is it?" Keith asked, turning his visuals back on and moving various levers and switches.

"I don't know, Skipper, I guess that's why we call it an anomaly. And gosh dang it, moving these levers and switches never tells me anything," the Green Lion pilot grumbled. "I've lost it now, couldn't even get a fix on it."

"Oh no," the Princess breathed, while pushing buttons and turning dials. "I hope it's not Lotor."

All his previous discomfort gone, Keith growled, "Don't worry, Princess, if he touches one hair on your head, I'll-"

"Yeah, yeah, we all know the drill!" Lance said impatiently.

"Actually, we don't, Red Lion," Hunk corrected his irritated teammate. "Keith never finishes that sentence."

"That's right!" Lance responded, looking thoughtful. "What _would _you do if Lotor tries to fondle the Princess, Keith?"

"We'd like to know too!" Hunk and Pidge chorused.

"Me too," Allura added, her blue eyes sparkling with mischief and a hint of something_ else_.

"Uh...er...well..."

"Holy cow, Captain Vengeance, surely you have thought of something appropriately nasty for that arrogant SOB after all this time?" Lance needled his friend. "I'm sure Lotor has something really good cooked up if he ever caught you!"

Allura gasped audibly. "Lance! What a terrible thing to say!"

The Red Lion pilot winked flirtatiously. "It's all right, don't worry about it, Princess! It won't come to that! Ole Blue Ears will never get the drop on Keith, because, unlike Prince Ally-Obsessed, our leader's iron clad discipline doesn't allow for a lovely woman to distract him from his mission."

"Of course." Allura said, softly, not sure if she was relieved or disappointed at hearing this piece of news.

Keith sighed in exasperation and tried to run his hand through his ebony locks, but stopped the motion when he realized he still had his helmet on. He settled for adjusting his visor, taking a moment to gather his composure. As he met the gaze of a smirking Red Lion pilot, who was watching his every move on the screen, an inscrutable mask dropped over his boyish features.

"I have a plan, but I'd rather not disclose it. Rest assured it involves plenty of gratuitous violence." He said, a thread of steel running through his words. "But if you really want to know what it is, Lance, just continue to pursue that cheesecake scenario you've concocted." Keith sent his friend a feral grin as sudden silence reigned over the airwaves. "Red Lion, do you read?"

"Loud and clear," Lance mumbled. "Sheesh."

"Whoa Nellie, did I just hear that?" Hunk boomed. "Chief, it almost sounds to me like you've got a thing for-"

A sudden alarm went off on his console, mercifully diverting the VF's attention, but frustrating everyone else.

"I've got a fix, Keith. The dials and buttons did it!" Allura exclaimed, happy and completely oblivious to the unresolved tension simmering around her.

"Nice going Princess! " Keith turned to smile at her. "I knew you could do it!"

Their gazes connected through the comm. They gazed deeply into each other's eyes. Time seemed to freeze.

"Hello, what are we doing about the anomaly?" Pidge prodded his leader back to reality.

The ebony haired pilot blinked, and tore his gaze away from the golden haired goddess. "Oh. Yeah, let's check it out! And look sharp team, we don't won't to get caught off guard by one of Doom's minions!"

"Oh dear, I hope it isn't Lotor," Allura whispered, her blue eyes wide and troubled.

Keith's jaw tightened. "Don't worry Princess, if he tries anything-"

"Keith will give him a dirty swirly!" Lance said, interrupting. "Can we go now?"

"What's a dirty swirly?" Allura asked.

"Don't ask." Hunk told her. "It's better if you don't know."

The Five Lions changed course, and headed for a small forest just a few kilometers from the Castle, where their sensors showed the anomaly had now landed.

**A few thousand feet below... **

"Egad, Brain! You did a smashing job of bringing us in!" Pinky trilled as he clambered out of the charred mechanical suit.

"Smashing is right! Look at our suit, Pinky! It's in pieces!" The Brain cried. "How will I ever get it back together? The exoskeleton has been compromised and the circuit board was fried during network entry. We've lost everything!"

Pinky counted. "Narf! Two arms, two legs and a body; five pieces, just like Voltron! Too bad we can't fly the Big Suit parts like the lion ships fly. Zort!"

For a few stunned seconds, Brain blinked at his companion in astonishment. "You know, every so often, a bit of light peeks through that dust-covered porthole you call a brain, Pinky. You have just come up with a splendid idea! All is _not _lost! We have some quick work to do before we make first contact, help me gather together the Big Suit into one pile."

They had just finished when a thundering sound reverberated through the trees as the five lion ships buzzed the area.

"Five lion ships! It's them! It's the Voltron Force!" Pinky screamed in jubilation. "They've spotted us and they are coming to help!"

"Of course they are," The Brain cackled. "The poor, misguided, trusting saps!"

"Oh, pretty, pretty! There's Blue Lion, the Princess is here, poit! Maybe I will be able to entertain her!" Pinky cried. He began to groom himself, then faced his big-headed friend. "How do I look, Brain?"

"Like a mouse without a clue." The Brain scoffed, cynically. "She has her own mice to amuse her, remember? Besides, they are Space Mice, you're just a low born, laboratory specimen."

"I can dream can't I? Poit! One's status shouldn't matter at' all when you are in love." Pinky sniffled, his eyes filling with moisture. "Just wait until you meet your dream girl, and you'll see how marvelous it is! Zort!"

The Brain snorted. "Not likely, unless there happens to be a witty, pink haired warrior woman with megalomaniac tendencies and a passion for nuclear physics around these parts."

"Well, now that you mention it-" Pinky began, when he was cut off by the sound of a high- pitched human voice hailing them.

"Let me handle this, Pinky," The Brain hissed as the bespeckled boy ran up to them.

They're mice!" Pidge exclaimed, staring at the two wide-eyed rodents who stood rigidly at attention near what appeared to be pieces of a spacecraft of some sort.

Lance eyed the rodents suspiciously. They looked like some sort of mutant mice. Obviously their genes had been spliced; possibly by Witch Hagar. "I've got a funny feeling about this...I don't like it. They don't look like normal mice at all. If you ask me, this has all the makings of a Hagar/Lotor scheme."

"I didn't ask you." Pidge retorted. "Anyone ever tell you that you have a tendency toward paranoia? For Gosh sakes, Lance, they're just mice!"

"Well to be fair, that's what you said the last time strange critters showed up around here, and they ended up trying to take over the Castle!" Hunk reminded his diminuitive friend. "And I don't think I need to refresh your memory about what happened when you brought the Princess some tadpoles..."

"Yeah, yeah," Pidge muttered grumpily. "A couple of miscalculations, one or two mishaps. Excuse me for being human."

The three men stared intently at the tiny intruders.

"Narf! Poit! Zort!" Pinky hiccuped nervously, earning him a harsh glare from his baggy eyed companion.

"Poit? Zort?" Pidge asked, to no one in particular. "Narf? Whattaya think, Hunk? Do you think he's trying to communicate?"

"Nah."

They exchanged glances. Then they turned to their companion, who had visibly relaxed.

"Harmless?" Hunk asked Lance in a low tone.

"Yeah, I think so. Especially the goofy looking one."

"Which one are you talking about?" Pidge snickered, a mite too loudly. "They both look goofy to me!"

The Brain bit his tiny tongue at hearing the comment. ~_I wouldn't talk, my little pre-pubescent pawn; anyone wearing a headband like that should be immediately scheduled for a fashion lobotomy_.~

An evil smile curled his mousy lips at the thought.

Allura joined her comrades, Keith at her heels. He continued to hover protectively in the background as she walked up to them. "Oh look, boys, the mouse with the huge head is smiling at us! Perhaps Cheddar can talk to them."

Without more ado, she reached down inside the front of her uniform top to bring out her special friend. After a few seconds, it became obvious she was having some difficulty locating the creature.

"Can't blame the little guy for not wanting to leave," Pidge observed under his breath.

"Uh, maybe he got wedged in her crevice, and can't get loose," Hunk suggested quietly, assessing the situation with an experienced eye.

"It's called cleavage, Hunk." Pidge corrected in an undertone, rolling his eyes. "Not crevice. You make it sound like Cheddar was rock climbing."

"Sorry." Hunk blushingly mumbled, as Lance tried to hold in his giggles.

They all jumped as their leader made his presence known by clearing his throat from directly behind them, communicating his displeasure with their conduct without a word. Lance felt dark eyes boring into his back, and refrained from asking his comrades if the Cheddar situation warranted hands-on search and rescue supervision.

Pinky sighed and grew increasingly dreamy-eyed as he watched Princess Allura. The Brain gave his enthralled companion a sharp elbow and warning frown, although he admitted that the sight of the beautiful young monarch groping inside her clothing was rather compelling. To know that a variety of his species was of a status where he could take such liberties was fascinating. And unfair.

Where was the justice, the mousy mastermind reflected bitterly, that an equally low-born creature in this universe had attained a most exalted and comfortable seat within the bosom of absolute power by simply acting like a mouse? No elaborate scheming had been needed, it had happened simply because the creature had kowtowed to the female human's need for a pet. Even more galling was the knowledge that the Arusian mouse had total access and all the advantages but no ambition to demand more than a friendship and the occasional bit of cheese from the ruler of an entire planet.

If only he could be a Princess' confidante, he would make the most of it. It would be a splendid back up plan should things go awry with the Big Suit.

The Brain pondered, then dismissed the notion.

~_Even if I were willing to go that route, there aren't any princesses on Earth that have enough power to rule the planet. _~ He mused, as he and the other males present continued to watch the Princess vainly try to get a grip on her pet. ~_But in days of yore, there were perks aplenty. I must say it makes me long for the days of monarchies and feudalism_.

"Need any help there, Princess?" Lance offered boldly, unable to hold himself back any longer.

"Lance." Keith hissed, jabbing a hard elbow into the ribs of his second-in-command while their gazes followed the moving, spandex covered lump that was Allura's hand.

"OW! Dang it, I'm only trying to help!"

"Assistance she doesn't need," Keith shot back, turning to glare at his friend, partly to intimidate, and partly to avoid staring at where the Princess had her hand at that moment.

"Lucky mouse." Hunk observed wryly, as Cheddar was finally pushed up into view.

Allura giggled as the mouse's whiskers tickled her skin, then blushed as she noticed the bemused expressions on her companion's faces. Realizing too late how her actions had appeared to her companions, she quickly tried to divert their attention.

"Cheddar, it seems we have some visitors in need of help. Would you talk to them, please?"

The mouse nodded, smiled and gave the universal peace sign, his little red eyes gleaming smugly.

"Good! Now be extra kind, Cheddar, these two are visitors to Planet Arus, and by the looks of them, they have had a very rough time." Allura said , while sending a winning smile at the strangers. "Convey our warmest greetings, that we wish to be their friends, and that we are sworn to help all those in need. I am sure we can help them rebuild their ship, we just need to find out what they require."

"Narrrrf. She's as lovely, kind and good as she seems on the telly," Pinky breathed reverently. "Don't you think so Brain?"

"She's all right." His grouchy friend grudgingly admitted. "A little too nice, and the blue eyed, blonde look is a bit cliché ...but she can definitely get away with it." He added hastily as Pinky turned to glare at him.

"I think she's beautiful."

"Quite." The Brain agreed. "We should cease our conversation now, Pinky. Quite obviously, they aren't aware we are capable of speaking with humanoids. Let's see if we can communicate with our peer before letting them know."

The two laboratory mice from Acme stood at attention as the big eared, red-eyed creature approached them on all fours, his whiskers twitching in a friendly way.

He rose on his back legs and looked the strangers over for a long moment, then bowed.

The Brain put on his most affable expression, which still made him look like he had a migraine, and returned the bow with studied dignity. Pinky bowed three times, grinning broadly, his large nose twitching with excitement at the possibility of making a new friend.

Cheddar smiled back, amused at the contrast between the alien visitors. Clearly and slowly, he began to speak to them in of 'Squeak and Chatter', considered the most common mouse dialect in the galaxy.

To be continued!


	3. Chapter 3

**Pinky, Voltron & the Brain**

**A Crossover Literary Work of Shameless Fandom**

_By KittyLynne and The Bandit_

**Chapter 3 **

When the space mouse called Cheddar concluded his discourse, he looked at the strangers with an expectant air.

The Brain's smile had slipped and then turned downward as he strained to grasp the gist of what Cheddar had been squeaking about.

"Brain, are you going to answer him?" Pinky asked his mentor quietly, after several seconds had ticked by.

"I'm working on it." The Brain muttered. How humiliating! Fluent in twenty- five human languages, but he hadn't understood a word of what a creature from his own species had said. He wasn't about to admit that to anyone, though, least of all, Pinky. "He spoke softly... I confess I couldn't hear everything clearly," he began, the excuse sounding lame even to him.

"Poit! I believe he asked us if we were shot down by Zarkon's forces and if we needed assistance in repairing our ship." The gangly mouse supplied helpfully.

"A good guess." The Brain arched an imperious eyebrow. "But honestly, you don't really understand what he said, do you?"

"Well yes, actually I do Brain. He's speaking a very common field mouse dialect, with a thick accent. It's rather similar to Arnold's back at the lab."

The eyebrow lowered. "Arnold?"

"Arnold Schwartzenmouse, the chap from Austria that has huge muscles that he likes to flex, with veins popping out all over!" The pink nosed mouse wrinkled his nose in distaste.

"Oh, _him._" The Brain nodded. "Acme is using him to test those new steroids. He's a droll fellow, smarter than he appears. Throws out extremely catchy one liners. It's too bad I haven't found a use for his wit and ability to bend cage bars."

"He's really too big for the likes of our little network," Pinky said. "He should be in the movies instead of a cage."

For a moment, the two lab rodents stared off into space pondering the injustice of it all, but were interrupted by a chatter of alarm from Cheddar, who evidently was worried they'd suffered some kind of injury in the crash, according to Pinky.

"Apologize for our discourtous inattention, Pinky, tell him we are all right and that we need help and materials for our 'Suit Ship'," The Brain murmured in reply to his companion, hoping that he wouldn't be questioned as to why he was delegating authority.

His cheerful cohort relayed the message without hesitation, amid several loud 'poits' and 'zorts'. Cheddar nodded enthusiastically to whatever had been said, and rattled off a monologue that Pinky appeared to understand, but which also heightened the Brain's anxiety about what was being said and the response his addled companion would give.

Pinky answered rapidly in the same dialect. He listened to the rejoinder and started to snort and chortle, with the Space Mouse joining in the laughter after a moment of hesitation.

"What? What? What's so funny?" Brain snapped at Pinky in an undertone.

"He's wondering, since we'll need replacement space suits, what helmet size 'Mr. Large Noggin' wears," Pinky said. "What a funny, funny nickname, can I call you that, Mr. Large Noggin, sir?" He giggled, then abruptly ceased at seeing the fierce scowl on his friend's basset-hound-like features.

"Don't make me hurt you, Pinky," The Brain said through clenched teeth. "Not in front of the Princess. She'd probably faint."

"Oh no," Pinky whispered, casting an adoring gaze upon the lovely Allura. "We mustn't have that!"

It was fortunate she was looking elsewhere, The Brain thought. Differences in species aside, it was clear that the black haired mullet man held her in his thrall. "Was there anything else?" He prodded Pinky with impatience.

"Oh yes, we are to come back to the Castle with them now, Cheddar said he has a guest room in his quarters that we can use. Then they will find us the materials we need for our ship!"

"The Castle? We are to stay in the Castle?" The Brain raised his little paws, about to warble his customary 'Yes!' but thought better of it, as he spotted the inquisitive looking humans. If they didn't hear him speak their language, he'd be able to overhear so much more that way!

"Relay our thanks, Pinky, and let's go!" He said, keeping his chortles to himself. So far, everything was going exactly according to his master plan.

"Looks like Cheddar was able to get through to them," Pidge commented, watching the strange looking mice falling into step behind the Princess' tiny friend. "Look how they walk on their hind legs, it's almost like they're human!"

"They sure don't look any mice I have ever seen, and I've seen a lot of them." Lance agreed, eyeballing the approaching critters with trepidation. "The tall one looks like he has a screw loose," he added.

"Oh no, the little one has such a misshapen body." The Princess said, her eyes moistening with empathy as she stepped forward and bent down to greet the little visitors. "He must have been through something awful."

"Captured and tortured, most likely." Pidge said to Lance. "Escapees from Doom?"

"Why would Doom care about torturing a couple of mice?" Lance scoffed.

"The same reason they do anything." Hunk said grimly. "Because they think it's fun."

"Well they're safe now! Hello! If you come in peace, you are welcome on our planet. " Allura declared with warmth as Cheddar translated her words. Her smile was radiant, a beacon of goodness and inner beauty. The Brain bowed courteously while his companion just stood and stared at the Princess.

"Bow, you dunderhead," his leader hissed at him, but the besotted mouse curtsied instead. Allura giggled as The Brain covered his eyes and shook his oversized cranium in obvious disgust.

Obviously, Pinky was captivated at seeing his dream woman for the first time without glass distortion or bad reception separating them. His grin was beatific, his eyes glowed rapturously, and for once he was incapable of uttering so much as a 'poit'; a situation for which his intellectual partner silently gave thanks. The less his peculiar cohort said, the less likely it was that The Plan would be discovered.

The Princess held out an elegant hand, palm up, and Pinky at once followed Cheddar in hopping aboard, with a reluctant Brain bringing up the rear.

"You poor creatures must have suffered horribly, oh dear, look at your tail!" Allura cried, turning her hand to better inspect the Brain's hindquarters and the extremity that resembled a jagged lighting bolt.

The brilliant rodent twisted around in bewilderment to stare at it as she continued to murmur words of dismay. What was wrong with his tail? Nothing, it looked the same as it always did!

"You needn't be afraid that anyone will do you further injury, my little friends. You shall be my special guests, and the boys will help you with rebuilding your transport." The Princess informed them kindly. "Hunk and Pidge are wonderful at fixing all sorts of spacecraft, aren't you boys?"

"Sure thing, Princess," the large one called Hunk boomed, "we'd be happy to help them out."

As Cheddar translated, and the two visitors smiled and nodded, although of course they had understood her the first time. The Brain took the opportunity to look around at the assembled group. They were clearly a team, but even if he hadn't known who was their leader, that unmistakable air of command would have made it evident. Lucky for The Plan that Keith didn't seem as distrustful or ill mannered as Lance of the perpetual smirk and boorish stare. The Brain returned Lance's unwavering scrutiny with a stare and smirk of his own. ~_Take that, fool! No one out-smirks the Brain!~ _

Lance's smirk turned to a frown. "Little dude's got a bad attitude," he murmured to no one in particular.

"You should know about that." Keith said. The Red Lion pilot shot him a dirty look.

The Brain blinked, the only outward sign of surprise. So, beneath his noble pronouncements and the ridiculous boots, the Captain had a bit of an edge. Interesting...

His ponderings as to if Keith might be incited to incapacitate Lance were interrupted by the youngest member of the Voltron Force.

"Greetings, visitors. They call me Pidge." The Green Lion pilot introduced himself with the air of one stating a well known fact. "I'm the only one around here that understands the mice other than the Princess. Cheddar, tell the large headed one to say something, and I'll translate."

As Cheddar rattled off the request, The Brain felt a cold sweat break out on his brow. What was he going to do, he couldn't squeak the mouse dialect to save his life!

For a moment panic rose within him. It was over. He would have to confess he was clueless. But his brain kept working, life in a laboratory had trained him well to deal with the unexpected, and he recklessly decided to improvise.

Striking a dramatic oratorical stance, one paw thrust into the air, the other behind his back, he intoned, "Squeak squeak, squeak,... squeak squeak, squeak...squeak!" He paused. "Squeak squeak squeak squeak squeak squeakitysqueak, squeak squeak squeaky squeak squeak."

A deep silence fell over the glen.

Pinky and Cheddar looked at each other in stupefaction, and then shrugged.

"What did he say, Pidge?" Allura asked.

Pidge scratched his head. What the deformed rodent had just said was total gibberish, as far as he could tell, but dare he admit that and look bad in front of his buddies and the Princess? They probably wouldn't believe him, and his credibility would be shot to Hades. "Uh, I think maybe he's probably still in shock from the crash,what he said was rather garbled."

"Aahhh, just admit it, you never know what those creatures say, you're just a lucky guesser," Lance taunted, grinning at the boy's put out expression.

"Can you make out the gist of it, Pidge?" Keith asked. "He's obviously trying to get something across, he seemed pretty focused on what he was saying."

"Yes, Keith. Whatever it is, he is clearly emphatic about it." Allura nodded at the Black Lion Pilot and he blushed, which in turn made her blush. Their gazes locked for a moment, then both looked away, the ebony haired man seeming unusually unnerved.

Pinky and Cheddar, who were paying close attention to this byplay, exchanged meaningful glances. There was definitely something going on between the Captain and the Princess. You could just see it written in their beet red, flustered countenances.

"Have they confessed their love yet?" Pinky whispered to his new acquaintance in mouse squeak.

Cheddar sighed and shook his head.

"What a pity." Pinky said sadly.

"Well, Pidge?" Keith prompted his teammate, his voice sounding a trifle husky. "What do you think?"

"Um...I think he might have been vowing loyalty to the Princess, and eternal vengeance against evildoers like Zarkon." The Green Lion pilot improvised, not wanting to disappoint his leader.

Pinky and Cheddar looked at each other and rolled their eyes.

Brain took a deep breath and tried to look as righteous as he could as all eyes turned to him. Apparently, he wasn't the only genius individual around here not willing to admit to some shortcomings, but the boy had given him something to work with and he took it. He bowed, and tried his best to look like someone who fought tyranny.

"Well I think any enemy of Zarkon is a friend of ours!" Hunk said heartily. "So now that we're friends, should we head back to the castle and get these two some food and equipment to fix their rig?"

"Yeah!" The others exclaimed in unison.

"They can ride with Cheddar and me in Blue Lion," Allura said. "That is, if they trust me."

Cheddar and Pinky nodded and squeaked their thanks, with the Brain following suit in a more dignified tone. But even he had to admit to a bit of a thrill at his illustrious perch as the Princess gently set her new companions on her shoulder.

"She smells good, doesn't she, Brain?" Whispered Pinky. "Like wildflowers and sunshine."

"Yes." The Brain murmured, only a bit sarcastically. "If only we could bottle that smell, we would be rich beyond our wildest dreams of avarice."

But all cynicism fled when they entered Blue Lion. The Brain goggled at everything, feeling as giddy as a schoolboy, er, mouse, in taking in all the splendid technology before his eyes.

The usual ritual was performed to start the lions, coupled with roll call. Within moments, they were airborne. ~_Impressive! Magnificent!~_ The Brain enthused silently as he sat watching the famous infracells, thrusters and dynotherms perform flawlessly. ~_Voltron is a marvel! I must know its secrets for myself!_~

Pinky leaned over and whispered, "What shall we do now, Mr. Lar- I mean, Brain?"

"For now, enjoy the ride. And keep your mouth closed."

"Zort!"

To be continued at the Castle! :D


	4. Chapter 4

**Pinky, Voltron & the Brain**

A Crossover Literary Work of Shameless Fandom

_By KittyLynne and The Bandit_

Voltron and all associated characters are owned and copyrighted by WEP. Original/new characters belong to the author. 'Pinky and the Brain' belongs to Warner Brothers/Amblin Entertainment. Other relative disclaimers may apply to obscure references to other shows.

**Chapter 4 **

Thanks to a good tail wind aidingd Allura's penchant for speed, the Blue Lion was the first to return to its home base.

The Brain and Pinky blinked in astonishment when Allura carried them into the castle from the launch chute. The area commonly referred to as Castle Control was even more impressive than it appeared on television, its cavernous size emphasized by a towering fifty-foot ceiling.

The mice blinked again as a stately looking, middle-aged gentleman came forward and greeted them with a stiff bow. His clothes and manner of speech echoed the formality of his gesture.

"Welcome friends, and may I say we are sorry for the misfortune that has befallen you. I am Coran, the Castle Diplomat and Advisor to Her Majesty the Crown Princess Allura; I am here to serve." Faded brown eyes looked upon the rodents with kindness, the creases at the corners indicating that a smile lurked behind the luxuriant mustache. "Anything that you need, please name it and I will do my best to accommodate you. All I ask in return is that you and your home world wherever it is will consider joining our New Alliance against Zarkon; we value and need all potential allies."

Cheddar translated rapidly and Pinky relayed the speech to Brain, who nodded graciously and bowed. It appeared to be a sufficient response for Coran, who bowed even more deeply, the hem of his greatcoat brushing the floor.

The Brain was pleased. ~_This fellow has impeccable manners. I could use a diplomat/butler/greeter once I become the beloved leader of Earth. I wonder if he'd consider a transfer if things don't work out for him on Arus?_~

Silence fell. Coran seemed at a bit of a loss as to how to continue. "I, er, am most eager to hear about your adventures-"

A loud growling interrupted him, and Pinky blushed.

"I think storytelling will have to wait until my guests have been fed!" Allura chuckled.

Coran nodded. "Of course! There are suitable morsels for them in the kitchen, why don't you go ahead; when they arrive I will inform the others where you have gone."

Once again, Cheddar translated the dialogue and Pinky told his companion, while clapping his paws in glee. The Brain nodded again, graciously, although he cast a last longing glance around Ops,

wishing he could take a much closer look.

"We shall see you later Coran, I will be taking them on a short tour as well."

The Brain smiled suddenly; things were looking good, and he had the best seat in the house to observe them.

He glanced down from his perch on her shoulder, at the soft hills protruding from the Princess' uniform.

Well, maybe not the _best_ seat, he corrected himself, wryly.

As Allura turned and started to exit the room with her passengers, the Royal Advisor called out, "I believe Nanny is in the kitchen, Your Highness."

The Princess half turned. "Is that a warning, Coran?"

The crinkles around the Castle Diplomat's eyes deepened and his mustache twitched. "Of course not. I'm simply imparting useful information."

"I see." Allura said, giving him a tiny smirk. "Thank you for the information."

"You're very welcome."

_**Twenty minutes later...**_

"Eeeeek!"

The black cast iron skillet came crashing down repeatedly, centimeters away from Pinky as he squeaked and scurried around to avoid being flattened. "Begone! This is no place for vile vermin!"

The rotund woman's flushed cheeks and bulging eyes coupled with the clanging of the pan were too much. Pinky began to cry piteously.

"Tears will not help you, I do not tolerate strange mice in my pantry! Now I will teach you a lesson!" The skillet rose menacingly over a visibly trembling Pinky.

"STOP!" The Princess cried, The Brain and Cheddar still riding on her shoulders. "Nanny, what do you think you're doing?"

"Defending my foodstuffs from this repulsive creature." The skillet wavered, then lifted into the air once more.

"Nanny, I command that you stop! He's my honored guest, we just rescued him from the woods, where he and his friend had crashed after Zarkon shot them down!"

Her governess sniffed skeptically.

"It's true!" Allura insisted. "But in any case, Coran has already welcomed them and you should do the same."

"Ach! Of course, he always welcomes the strange when he would do well to be more wary." The Royal Governess sighed and lowered her weapon, then pointed an index finger at the Princess, exclaiming in what the Brain thought was a Germanic accent, but wasn't quite sure, "The lions preserve us, what is that monstrosity on your shoulder?"

"You're not exactly the Aphrodite type yourself, Madam," The Brain muttered, while scowling fiercely at the overwrought female.

"Nanny, you are being terribly rude! Apologize to- to, um..." The Princess' voice trailed off uncertainly. Cheddar immediately whispered in Allura's ear and she quickly finished with, "Apologize to Master Large Noggin, and the honorable Antonio Banderas, at once!"

~_Antonio Banderas_?~ The Brain thought, incredulously. He glanced at Cheddar and the mouse gave him a large smile and the inevitable peace sign. He then looked sternly at Pinky, who shrugged and gave him a gap- toothed grin.

"Not until I find out what he was doing in my pantry," Nanny said firmly, folding her ample forearms across her ample chest and glaring at the scrawny looking rodent.

"I sent him here, we were all coming down to get some food for our guests." Allura explained. "Antonio just got a little ahead of us, because he seemed to know exactly where he was going. I have never seen anyone with such a well developed sense of direction!"

Pinky stared at his feet and tried to look modest. The Brain gave a soft snort.

"Vell, Princess, I am sorry I frightened your little mouse guests," the older woman huffed, "but someone has to be on guard, and I am taking no chances when it comes to strangers in the palace." She gave Pinky a stiff curtsy. "Master Banderas, I hope you will forgive me. I mean you no harm."

Cheddar translated. Pinky clasped his paws, bowed low in acknowledgment, and then blew the governess a kiss.

"Such cheekiness!" Nanny sputtered, but not looking entirely displeased. "Let me get you some cheese so you can be on your way."

She set down the skillet on the counter, opened the nearest cupboard, and pulled out a large wheel of cream- colored cheese. She then located a knife and cut out a large wedge for each mouse. "Here you go, Master Large and Master Antonio. This is some of the finest cheese Arus has to offer. It has been aged for forty years, it should be at its peak of perfection."

Pinky's lower extremities wiggled in pure delight as he accepted the treat.

The Brain sniffed his section suspiciously before taking a small bite. He closed his eyes in bliss as the pungent yet smooth flavor exploded on his taste buds. ~A_ll I need now is a glass of German Auslese, vintage 1983._~ He thought as he savored the exquisite treat. ~_Something sweet to go with the pungent_.~

"Care for some Honey Nectar?" Allura offered, while Cheddar and Pinky translated rather sloppily, as their oral cavities were stuffed with cheese.

The Brain inclined his head in affirmation and soon was sipping the liquid out a small sugar spoon. ~_Very nice bouquet; full-bodied, but And extremely high in alcoholic content._~ He critiqued privately. He needed to keep his fiendishly clever mind clear as a bell, so he refused a refill.

Pinky tossed back his portion and two more, and then looked hopefully at the Princess, who laughed.

"No more for you, my young friend! The nectar is delicious but it packs quite a wallop if you aren't used to it. Anyway, I need to finish your tour."

Cheddar translated, a trifle inarticulately, as he had imbibed as much as Pinky, then reeled away to hide and take a nap before the Missus could box his ears for tippling before lunch.

Allura reached down to help the staggering Pinky climb aboard her shoulder. The inebriated mouse curled up next to Brain and promptly fell asleep.

After a whirlwind tour (that the snoring Pinky completely missed) the Princess and her guests finally ended up in what was affectionately called Pidge's 'Think Tank'. It was a room located in the pilot's living quarters, a cross between a den, a laboratory and a workshop. The boy prodigy and Hunk were off to one side, attentively perusing a mass of wires and computer circuitry, but greeted the visitors with friendly smiles upon their arrival.

On a large rectangular table in front of the two pilots lay the salvaged pieces of the Big Suit and several weird looking tools and gadgets. The Brain began to salivate at the sight of such advanced engineering components.

Pinky awakened and stretched and looked about him in bleary eyed puzzlement. "Poit! Hey, Brain, hic!... oh dear, 'scuse me! Where are we?"

"In the laboratory of the one they call Pidge." The Brain muttered. "And please keep your voice down, I wish to observe everything without being observed."

"How come I never saw this room on the show?" Pinky asked in a loud whisper.

"How should I know?" His friend whispered back. "Perhaps because you happened to miss an episode?"

This rapidly sobered the half-drunk rodent, whose large pink nose wiggled in indignation at the very idea. "Absolutely not! I've seen every one!"

"Then maybe the production company is making new shows that will be aired in future, and this room is an addition." The Brain said with a shrug.

"Oh lovely, more Voltron! It would be beyond my wildest hopes!" Pinky murmured happily. "To have more time with the team...and maybe Keith will even get to kiss the Princess now."

"Whatever," The Brain muttered. "I'm more concerned with attaining the secret of Voltron at the moment."

As if sensing the mouse genius' eagerness, Allura placed her passengers with great care upon the table next to the Suit ship. "Here you go, boys. Please make yourself at home."

Feigning nonchalance, Brain strolled over to inspect the new and highly developed computerized components that the two mechanics were going to install in the Big Suit. Here was technology beyond his wildest dreams, even beyond the artistic capabilities of WB artists, with brand new parts instead of rebuilt ones. And not one of them was labeled 'Acme'! The mouse genius was filled with uncharacteristic sentimentality as he surveyed the intricate apparatus, and a tear came to his eye at the absolute splendor of it all.

"The Final Frontier..." he murmured. "I'm about to boldly go where no mouse has gone... oh for the love of Pete, Pinky, try to concentrate, don't you care that we are about to learn about some fascinating and advanced new technology!""

But Pinky had already wandered off, having noticed a red clad figure hovering in the hallway. Captain Keith was tailing them again, keeping an eye on the Princess.

Allura noticed the Captain as well, and made her excuses to the others, trying not to seem too eager as she approached the doorway to greet the dark haired pilot. Pinky crept after her, curious as to what would be really said between the couple, now that he and Brain had managed to bypass all of the network's 'sensors'...well, except for Nanny of the Very Large Skillet, the human equivalent of the alarm and huge rubber stamp that got used where he came from.

"Keith? Is everything all right?" The Princess asked softly. "Did you need me for something?"

"Yeah! I mean, no, everything's fine!?" Keith said without his usual poise. As he straightened, he met the incredibly beautiful eyes that had the power to hold him captive and tie knots in his tongue and tried to ignore the heat rising in his face. "Uh, I just got back and I wanted to see how everything was going with our guests."

"Couldn't be better." Allura assured him. "They seem to be no worse for their horrible experience, and Hunk and Pidge are going to help them fix their space craft now." She walked closer to him and put a hand on his bicep . "I wonder...if you would do me a big favor, Keith?"

Blue eyes glimmered and pink lips glistened as she gazed at him. The golden head tilted inquiringly as her other hand rose to trace an imaginary line down his arm. Keith sucked in a tortured breath, and Pinky saw the Captain's eyes darken and his Adam's apple bob as the Black Lion pilot swallowed hard.

"Anything for you, Princess."

Pinky's eyes were wide with delight. "Now's your chance!" He hummed, doing a little dance. "Kiss her, kiss her!"

Allura was blushing too, but she didn't move away, and in fact, inched closer. She looked around, as if to check for spies, and then leaned forward to whisper her request. As she did so, her right breast brushed his left arm.

Keith's eyes grew wide and he gave a start that had his elbow jerking into her chest, jabbing into the softest, most tender flesh imaginable.

"Owww!" The Princess cried, staggering back as pain moistened her baby blues, and shock pushed the request to the back of her mind.

"Oh dear, that didn't go at all well." Pinky clucked.

"Oh God, I am sorry..." Keith instinctively reached out to inspect the damage that had been inflicted, then thought better of it and snatched his hand away. "Er, can I get you something, Princess? An ice pack maybe?"

Allura glared at him, while crossing her arms over her chest. "No thanks, it really doesn't need to be chilled right now on top of everything else." She looked down at the right side of her chest. "It might be puffing up a little, but my bra should contain it."

"Oh-okay." Keith felt a suspicious tightening in his nether regions and shifted uneasily. Damn the tightness of his flight suit, and the blazing red that outlined every bulge!

Allura's eyes lowered and widened.

Pinky clapped his paw over his mouth in shock. ~_Egads! She said 'bra'! Nanny is going to show up any minute and spank the naughty Princess for sure!_~

Much to his amazement, the overprotective governess didn't materialize. Pinky scanned the corridor. Maybe Coran would be the one to break up this rendezvous- it was usually one or the other, and it always happened that way on T.V. But nope, no Coran to be seen on the horizon, either, so Pinky happily returned to his surveillance of Keith and Allura.

The couple still stood as if frozen in place, each trying desperately not to check one another for signs of 'swelling'.

"I'm really very sorry," Keith began again.

"It's all right, these things happen," Allura replied quickly.

~_No they don't!_~ Pinky thought gleefully. ~ _That was a bit of a blooper_, _Zort!_~

"Ahem. You had a favor you wished to ask of me?" The Captain reminded her, doubly determined to make up for his clumsiness.

Allura suddenly smiled and her eyes began to sparkle once more. "Oh yes. There is something I need, and I..." She paused as the beeping of the communicator broke her train of thought.

To the on-looking rodent, Keith looked nervous, titillated and perturbed all at once.

"Come in, Commander," a disembodied voice crackled into the hall like a shot. "Keith, do you read? Are you there?"

Pinky sighed as he watched the Black Lion pilot reluctantly take the security call from Coran. ~_I guess that's more like it. I was starting to wonder why they'd actually have a chance to smoochy- woochy. Zort!_~

He watched Keith regretfully take his leave of the beautiful Princess and saw her yearning expression and her gaze follow the dashing Commander as he strode away.

"Someday, Keith." She murmured, and then slowly turned and strolled off in the opposite direction.

Pinky instantly decided to follow her. Maybe, just maybe he could cheer her up.

**To be continued...**


	5. Chapter 5

**Pinky, Voltron & the Brain**

_** A Crossover Literary Work of Shameless Fandom**_

By KittyLynne and The Bandit

**Chapter 5**

Allura hummed a nameless tune as she followed the maze of corridors leading to her office. If truth be told, it was a lot more like a lounge, but she liked to call it an office since it was where she always took care of all the voluminous paperwork Coran loved to draw up for her. Proclamations, certificates of valor, declarations of defiance, and Alliance condemnations of the latest Doom atrocities were the usual fare that crossed her desk. She'd be glad when the Advisor got the new word processor she had ordered for him, it would cut down on the paper waste.

When she reached the proper door and placed her hand on the identification scanner. After scanning her palm, a male voice emitted from the device. "Greetings to Crown Princess Allura of Arus. You have been identified and may enter this secured space."

The Crown Princess stuck her tongue out at the security device. Why did they have to program the thing to talk that way? If it was human, that voice would have taken the guise of an insufferably pompous little man.

Why did the mundane have to be so annoying? If she could tweak the message a little, have some fun with it...a different voice, or at least a personalized message tied to identity-now _that_ could be a lot of fun if it were done correctly!

She spoke aloud in the style of the automated voice, testing her idea for shock value.

"Warmest greetings to Captain Keith of the Voltron Force. You are permitted to enter the Princess' personal space." She giggled. A double entendre; Lance would be so proud if he knew she'd thought of one! And there was another idea- Lance could help her reprogram the darn thing. He'd do anything to get a rise out of the Captain, which made them like two peas in pod, although the rise she was hoping for was of a different nature...

Realizing she was standing in the hallway staring at her open door with a goofy grin on her face, Allura went into the room.

The grin vanished and she groaned as she spied the pile of documents and folders awaiting her. She didn't notice the furry little rodent that skipped in right behind her before the door slid shut as she sank down in the nearest chair, which happened to be a papasan, letting the chair's bowl shape comfortably cradle her body. She closed her eyes, willing the work to disappear, then twitched as she felt a gentle tickle on her face. A wayward current of air? The touch of a butterfly's wing? The gentle caress of fingertips of her beloved?

The last thought brought on a dreamy smile. Slowly, her eyes opened.

She gazed, almost cross-eyed, at the huge pink nose, whiskers, and beady, bugged out eyes just inches from hers. And screeched.

* * *

Pinky yelled and fell backwards from the side of the Princess' chair to land something firm and yet bouncy. He lay still, afraid to move or look at what he was sitting on, imagining the imaginary weight of Nanny's skillet upon his puny head, or even worse, the painful flail of digust from his beloved Princess.

"Antonio! Are you all right?"

She didn't sound angry, only concerned. He cracked open one eyelid, saw he was in shadow, looked up, and breathed a sigh of relief. There they were, looming over his head like two pink clouds. He was sitting on her tummy, and therefore hadn't disgraced himself too badly, thank goodness. Unfortunately, there was no proper way for him to scramble out of his predicament. He put his paws to the sides of his face, trying to think of a way out.

Allura laughed softly at the sight of the blushing and flustered rodent. "I do apologize for screaming, but I didn't know you were here! Why aren't you with the others?"

Pinky stared at her, looking worried. The Brain had told him to keep quiet. How could he explain his presence without speaking?

"It's all right, I'm not going to tell." Allura assured him, as she plucked Pinky off her stomach and set him on the chair's edge, at eye level." She gave him a quizzical look. "But I don't want you to wander off and get lost in this humungous big palace. There aren't any signs to tell a new mouse where it's safe to go. It's good that you followed me, but I wonder why?"

Oh dear. This was getting complicated. But what she said about signs had given Pinky an idea. He'd always been good at charades, and she was used to talking to the Space Mice, Cheddar had said. Maybe he could sign his answer to her question. He bowed and gestured at the Princess.

"You're trying to tell me something." She guessed, and watched him as he pointed to himself, then at her, made a sad face, and then pointed to himself and ran in place, then stopped, bowed, pointed to her and made a sad face, then pointed to himself and made a happy face.

After an awkward moment, comprehension dawned on the Princess' face. "You followed me because you wanted to cheer me up? You did that instead of hanging out with the boys?"

Pinky gave her a shy grin.

"That is so sweet of you! " She sighed. "And you're wonderfully intuitive to sense my mood. If you don't mind, I could use someone to talk to right now, because I am just so frustrated with how things are going with Keith."

Pinky's face grew serious and he sat down, giving her his full attention.

"You see, I have realized that Keith is my true love." The Princess began, confiding to her rapt audience of one. "And I think- no, I'm pretty certain he has feelings for me, and I've tried to let him know how I feel about him in so many little ways, but he either doesn't get it or is choosing not to notice." She raised her hand to her forehead. "I can't go on like this, but what else can I do?"

Pinky gestured, miming a bridge over waves, drawing a heart, then running in slow motion while embracing the air.

"Oh! Are you talking about The Love Bridge?" The mouse nodded emphatically. "Antonio, I am so impressed that you know about one of our legends! But the next festival is four months away, and I don't want to wait that long."

Pinky nodded, thought for a moment, then went into character. He adjusted an imaginary jacket, smirked with hands on hips, pointed to Allura, and to himself, then pretended to hug and kiss an imaginary being, then played the part of an angry looking onlooker.

"That's a very good idea too," she said, "And I've tried making him jealous...mostly with Lance. And it kind of worked, I think, but not enough to provoke him to declare himself, or kiss me or anything. It just caused trouble between him and Lance."

Pinky hopped around, grimacing and swooning like a damsel in distress. Holding the pose, he cast a hopeful look at his hostess.

But Allura shook her head sadly. "Whenever I get into trouble, he's too focused on the actual mission of saving me to think of being romantic." Her lips twisted into a rueful smile. "Once I actually tried fainting- he caught me, gently swept me up into his wonderfully strong arms... and took me straight to Dr. Gorma, who gave me a lecture on nutrition and made me take a huge dose of castor oil."

Both mouse and Princess shuddered.

Pinky held up his paw, thought for a moment, then launched into a role play, playing the part of a flirt, batting his eyelashes and motioning with his paws, as if conversing, before closing his eyes and puckering up.

Allura blinked. "I should ask him to kiss me?"

Pinky gave her the victory sign. Allura bit her lip. "Oh dear! I wish it were that simple! But it's not! I'm the Princess of Arus! I'm the leader of an entire planet, one of the founders of the New Alliance, the pilot of Blue Lion! I have to follow certain rules..." her voice trailed away as she saw the mouse crossed his paws over his chest and gave her a look of disappointment, his tiny white shoulders slumping forward. "And... I'm a woman who is making excuses because I'm afraid to show how desperately I want to be with the man I love in case I'm rejected by him," she finished, looking miserable.

Pinky squared his shoulders, lifted his head and gazed up at her with shining, soulful eyes, pointed to himself, placed his paw over his heart, then went down on one knee, and lifted paws clasped together in entreaty.

"Oh Antonio, I'm deeply honored." Allura said, patting him gently on the head. "But I couldn't say yes to anyone else when Keith has my heart. Not even you."

Pinky smiled and shrugged, as if saying, oh well, it was worth a try.

"You are a good friend." Allura said to him. "You have inspired me. I should just ask him! He said he'd do anything for me, right?"

Pinky clapped his paws in obvious approval. Allura gave a little giggle. "I don't know about this...what if he says no?" Pinky looked indignant and adamantly shook his head. He pointed at her and cheered.

The Princess laughed. "You believe in me that much? All right! I'll do it tonight, before I lose my nerve!" Her gaze fell on her cluttered desk. " I better get to work and make sure my schedule is clear. Can't have anyone or anything interfering in Operation Kiss!"

Leaning over, she placed a kiss on Pinky's head. "Antonio, thank you so much. I don't know how you knew about me and Keith...but then again, I'm not really surprised. Love is the language that needs no words to be understood."

* * *

Back at the Think Tank, Pidge and the Brain were not feeling the love, but having differences of opinion while engaging in a silent tug of war with the Big Suit's innards.

"Hey!" Pidge yelled, lifting both the part and the mouse clutching it into the air in front of his sweating, bespectacled face. "You can't put a turbine there, it'll interfere with the warp coil!"

The Brain gave the youth his best 'don't make me hurt you' glare as he dangled in mid air. This young whippersnapper may know his way around a computer, and probably had memorized an entire astrophysics textbook, but the bespectacled whelp knew nothing of the mechanics involved in operating the Big Suit!

Pidge glared back, refusing to relinquish the turbine.

Hunk intervened, taking the part and setting it down gently. "Give him a chance. I've been watching and the little guy really seems to knows what he's doing."

Without further ado, The Brain hoisted the part to his small shoulders and scurried off, chortling to himself.

The Green Lion pilot turned to his friend, his agitation causing his glasses to steam up. "Didja hear that little cheesehead? Didja? He's cackling just like Hagar does when she gets the best of us!"

" From what I can see, the technology that powers this thing is pretty piecemeal, and runs a lot differently than our ships." Hunk said. "It's his baby, can't blame him for not wanting other people to take over. Would you want him telling you how to fix Green Lion?"

"Not that I could understand him if he did." Pidge said grudgingly. "But no."

"Then don't sweat it, little buddy. It'll be all right."

They watched the rodent get to work, expertly installing the turbine. In no time flat, the misshapen mouse had completed his task and stood back to let the one he thought of as 'Big Guy' inspect it.

"Gotta give him credit, he knows a thing or two about mechanical engineering," the Yellow Lion pilot commented admiringly as he strolled over to observe the work of the mysterious Mr. Large Noggin. "There aren't too many rodents that would be able to do that."

"None." Pidge stated, refusing to let on he was impressed. "He has human level intellience. Must be a mutant of some kind."

The Brain didn't appreciate the mutant reference, but was mollified by the realization the boy was unknowingly admiting he was of an equal intellect to his own.

Hunk looked the engine over with a practiced eye and whistled. "Nice improvisation, Noggie! Impressive mechanical skills too, dealing with makeshift equipment," he added, while checking out a apparatus that strongly resembled what Terrans called a hand mixer.

The Brain was annoyed to find he was quite gratified to hear this, but forced himself not to respond or give any indication he understood the compliment. He could, however, acknowledge the general tone of the remark, so he smiled thinly and gave the mouse version of a thumbs up.

"Looks like she's good to go, the framework is all in place!" Hunk announced. "Now it's our turn, let's soup this baby up! Ready with the weapons systems, Pidge?"

"Yep. All set!" The youth carried over some fascinating looking computer chips and panels. "I need to install these myself, " he told the Brain in a stiff but civil tone as he pointed to the Big Suit. "You can watch and learn if you like."

The Brain narrowed his eyes, but stepped aside with an only slightly sarcastic 'be my guest' gesture.

"That's a good man, er, mouse!" Hunk said heartily. "Let's get down to business!"

As the two pilots dived into their work, they missed the twin glints of triumphant satisfaction in The Brain's eyes as he watched the boys of Anime work their mecha magic.

* * *

Back in the Princess' quarters, Pinky had been making himself useful. He just loved to be helpful, and he happily licked and sealed all the envelopes Allura passed to him.

"This is so tedious, isn't it Antonio?" She remarked after the better part of two hours had gone by. "If only we could get access for computers for everyone on Arus so we didn't have to send out these mass mailings. You are so nice to help me."

Pinky tried to reply, forgetting that he was supposed to keep quiet. Mercifully for The Plan, the glue from the envelope had riveted his sizeable tongue to the roof of his mouth so that he could only grin, which seemed to satisfy the Princess as a response. They continued to work in companionable silence until a quiet scratching at the door startled both of them.

"What was that?" Allura said, rising from her desk. She strode over to the door panel and listened. After a few seconds, the scratching could be heard again, louder and more insistent this time, accompanied by what sounded like a meow.

"A cat?" The Princess frowned and glanced in concern at her guest. "Hm. Maybe one of the new staff members let it in. Anyone who's been here awhile knows we have a ban on cats here out of respect for my little friends."

She went to press the panel to open the door, then stopped and returned to the desk to scoop up her guest. She placed him to one side of the door, right below the control panel, and smiled reassuringly at the nervous looking Antonio. "There is a small recess there that you can hide in if the kitty happens to get past me," she advised. "I'll get someone to take it outside. I will protect you, I won't let it hurt you."

After Pinky took cover, she opened the door, kneeling in preparation for a feline to come creeping or running in. Nothing came into view. "That's odd." Allura stepped out into the hall, and glanced both ways. "It must be around here. Stay hidden, Antonio. I'll just walk down the hallway a short distance and check. "

Pinky nodded, and watched her depart with an uneasy feeling jabbing through his gut as he remembered that he had only ever seen one cat infiltrate the castle on the show, the one that belonged to that evil witch...

It was then that he heard the Princess cry out. Pinky started to scramble down from the ledge, then reversed course to jump back up to the ledge above where he hit the big red button he had noticeed and was sure had to be an alarm. As the klaxons went off, he scooted down to the floor, ran to the door, and peered around the corner and out into the hall. The sight that met his eyes confirmed his worst fear.

At the end stood the Princess, now confronted by the most fearsome looking blue cat with yellow eyes Pinky had ever seen. TV had not done it justice, it was way bigger and scarier in person. Its backside was high in the air, its mouth was open in a feral grin, and its dagger sharp claws gleamed as it crouched. It was getting ready to pounce!

Without hesitation or consideration of the foolhardiness of his action, Pinky scurried down the hallway, and put himself between Allura and the wicked creature. Those claws would tear into Allura, he couldn't allow it! He squeaked angrily, and put up his fists.

The evil feline, diverted by what looked to be a gangly but tasty morsel, broke off its attack on the Princess and focused on the mouse.

"Antonio, no!" Allura cried. "Get back in the room! This is no ordinary cat!"

The heavy clatter of approaching guards filled the air and the cat looked behind it, knowing it had to escape or be captured. Lunging forward with unexpected speed, he grabbed Pinky by the tail, turned and ran off.

The mouse tried to yell, but the glue still kept his tongue from functioning. Silent and helpless, he swung crazily back and forth as his captor ran.

The Princess and her guards gave chase, but the wily cat eluded them all. The stupid sentimental humans couldn't fire on him while he held the rodent as a hostage. This one didn't look or taste or smell of the Arusian mice he was accustomed to, but it had been with the Princess, who talked to mice. That made it a prize that Hagar was sure to be so pleased with, she might actually let him have this delicacy to play and munch on after she had thoroughly interrogated it.

He jumped out of the nearest open window with swift agility, and ran along the parapets to a coffin shaped pod concealed between their peaks . The lid to the craft opened, the feline leapt in, and the hatch closed behind him. A moment later and the cat and the mouse were airborne, heading toward Planet Doom.

"Antonio!" Allura shouted, watching the departing coffin ship with eyes filled with horror and tears. "You dear, sweet, noble mouse...why didn't you stay hidden?"

There was no time to waste. Spinning around, she pelted toward Castle Control, after punching the communicator and notifying Coran to round up the team.

She had told Antonio that she would protect him, and she intended to keep that promise.

To be continued...


	6. Chapter 6

**Pinky, Voltron & the Brain**

A Crossover Literary Work of Shameless Fandom

By KittyLynne and The Bandit

**Chapter 6**

The Brain gazed in wonder at the rejuvenated Big Suit and his mind filled with superlatives. He walked around the entire vessel, and then stood back to survey it, then walked around it again, marveling at the awesome battle warrior mecha guise his creation had become.

A mighty feat of engineering. A masterpiece of design. Perfection.

And best of all, it had a mechanical head now! His two benefactors had assumed the old one had been destroyed, and of course the mouse couldn't dispute that unless he talked. In addition to the head proper, it had four more heads, one at the end of every extremity in addition to the one above the shoulders. It pleased him to no end that the one called Hunk had suggested that the five heads carry The Brain's fearsome, scowling likeness (although the big man had remarked in an aside to Pidge that the sight of Mr. Noggin's mug would scare the enemy without having to fire a shot, and his friend had laughingly agreed).

The Brain, blissfully unaware of this exchange, had privately reveled in the fact that, even though his actual person would now be under wraps, his noble brow would still be visible to his adoring public.

All of the 'Large Noggins', as Pidge referred to them, (much to the Brain's displeasure) also had the capability of detaching and forming into independent, pod- like ships, although the extremities themselves couldn't separate due to lack of proper materials and time.

The paint on the cyborg's suit had been changed from a loud brown and gold plaid to a more subtle shade of gray, with pinstripes. The ecru shirt, maroon tie, and a hanky embroidered with the Royal Crest of Arus added stylish panache to the contraption. Hunk and Pidge had installed several advanced weaponry systems that the megalomaniac mouse was terribly anxious to get his paws on, plus a communications and tracking system that was second to none.

The mouse genius smiled in appreciation of the effort that had been put forth by his companions. It was a joy working with individuals that understood all aspects of mechanical and electrical engineering. Yes, The Brain had to admit that these two humans had been especially resourceful and clever in giving his creation such limitless possibilities. Too bad they wouldn't go for serving a Benevolent Despot, otherwise he could have offered them both paid positions with good benefits once he'd established his empire on Earth.

The Brain's brow furrowed as he considered the idea. Come to think of it, they might actually be open to such an offer- from what he could tell, they worked for room and board, and with all the Doom raids and RoBeasts stomping on people, he doubted they even qualified for affordable life or medical insurance. They never bought anything and always wore the same clothes day after day on their show. Certainly they'd give some consideration to a tempting proposition to steal them away from their current employers?

They could be very useful with their knowledge that surpassed what was presently available on Earth as far as space travel went. It would be worth the trouble to take them with, even if the young one was mouthy and a bit of a grandstander. Pinky would help distract the boy with his inanities once they'd revealed their true identities. It would be amusing to see if Pidge would tolerate the silly, verbal ticks. A few days of living with those incessant poits, zorts and narfs, and the lad would be seeking an asylum...

The Brain chuckled to himself, then sighed, unexpectedly missing his zany cohort at this pivotal moment. ~_I wonder where Pinky got himself off to, and if he's pondering the same things I am?~_

He decided after further seconds of reflection that it was premature for him to ponder any staff decisions until he got to test-drive the Big Suit. There were bound to be glitches that would need his full attention, and everything needed to be fully operational for The Plan to succeed.

~_Your name shall be Braintron, and you shall be mine_.~ The mouse genius thought with elation. ~_With your power, I will achieve my goal of taking over the world at long last. You are destined to become a global phenomenon, and a mighty Champion for all ages!~_

The Brain was so enthralled with their handiwork, so wrapped up in his vision come to life, that he didn't so much as flinch when the alarms went off. Klaxons blared and running footsteps could be heard in the outer corridors. Someone shouted right outside the door. The Brain didn't twitch or give any sign that he heard.

"Something's going down!" Hunk boomed. "Gotta go!"

Not waiting for permission, the Big Guy reached out one beefy hand and scooped the bemused mouse off the worktable.

The Brain came to life, struggling, and then subsiding with a glare.

"Sorry, Noggie old boy, but duty is calling, and we have to answer!" His captor said as he slid Brain into his vest's inner pocket. "Stay with me, I'll get you to safety!"

~_NO! This can't be happening!~_ The Brain shouted silently. So close, so close to his objective, and then... he looked at his tiny watch resignedly. _~Of course, should have known, we are getting to the part of the story in which our customary bout with unmitigated failure begins to loom on the horizon. I wonder what Pinky Banderas has done this time to foul up The Plan. The vastness of deep space has nothing on the gap between that boy's ears!~_

The Brain was pulled from his despair, and grunted as he was jostled and bounced into the rock hard body of the Yellow Lion pilot, who was now running full tilt to answer the emergency summons. ~_Ow! This fellow is a lot fitter than he looks-oof! The Princess was a much more comfortable ride!~_

He crouched low in the vest pocket, immersed in a sulk...but stopped as he realized that they were probably headed for the castle's Control Center. All was not lost, maybe this little emergency wouldn't be such a waste of time after all, if he could get a first hand look at the inner sanctum of the Voltron Force!

* * *

Five minutes later In Castle Control found Keith and Allura already standing behind Coran at the Ops panel when the rest of the team entered the main computer room.

One look at the Princess and Hunk knew something truly terrible must have happened. Her features were pale and set, and her eyes were glistening with tears that she was refusing to let run onto her cheeks. Keith looked stern and foreboding with his thick black brows pulled down over blazing eyes. Coran was quickly punching information into the computer and frowning worriedly.

"Is it Lotor again?" The Yellow Lion pilot blurted out.

"The Blue Cat was here and it accosted the Princess," Keith stated grimly.

"Uh-oh...that means another Doom plot is underway." Hunk rasped, while crossing his muscular forearms firmly across his bulging pectorals. Thank goodness the Princess was okay, and he hoped that darn cat would choke on a hairball.

He gave a start as he felt one bulge start to move violently and sheepishly pulled out a glaring large headed mouse. "Oops! Sorry Noggie, I forgot you were there!"

~_Imbecile! You almost crushed me! What were you thinking? That's right- you weren't!~_ The Brain snarled silently.

"Sheesh, I said I was sorry, Noggin!" Hunk addressed the glowering mouse, as he set The Brain on one brawny shoulder. "Get over it now, we got bigger fish to fry!"

The Brain subsided, but fumed as he sat. That name! He loathed the sound of it! Why couldn't Pinky have introduced him as 'the Iconoclast' like he was supposed to? The thought of hearing that moniker for the rest of their stay was almost enough to make him rethink his vow of silence...

Almost.

~_It will take more than hatred of a ridiculous nickname to get me to jeopardize The Plan! Sticks and Stones, and all that.~_

With renewed resolution, The Brain turned his full attention to his Hostess.

She seemed quite agitated, if one could judge by her wildly gesturing arms, high- pitched tone and heaving bosom.

"They've kidnapped Antonio. He tried to defend me against that horrible cat and it grabbed him took off in a space coffin ship." Allura's voice shook with emotion. "We tracked it; it has gone all the way back to Planet Doom! We have to do something to save him!"

~_Pinky...Pinky has gone to Planet Doom?~_ The Brain's eyes widened in horrified comprehension of the situation. ~_If I remember correctly, that's where the Voltron Force' s sworn enemies, the fish eared guy and the son of a fish eared guy live, along with some sort of witch!_

It was inconceivable! But it had happened- the Princess had seen it! The witch's fiendish feline familiar had mousenapped his best friend and carried him into the heart of pure evil.

"That wicked piece of work probably thought our guest was one of Princess' pets, and took him in for interrogation." Lance offered. "Either that, or he was tired of canned space rations."

"Oh no! Don't say that Lance!" The Princess closed her eyes in anguish. "This is all my fault. If I had just kept the door shut..."

In a voice shaking with emotion, she relayed exactly what had happened to the shaken Brain and her teammates.

"Don't blame yourself, Your Highness, you had no way of knowing that it was Blue Cat, it was our perpetually second-rate security systems that failed you and Antonio." Coran spoke up, turning in his chair to look at his Princess. "It sounds like Antonio freely made the decision to defend you, a noble choice indeed from a stranger who only met us by fate."

~_My dear man, you have no idea.~_ The Brain thought with a stab of strong emotion. ~_He did it for love- the poor, misguided, infatuated fool! This is what following your heart gets you, Pinky! A harsh lesson, one you did not deserve to learn!~_

Lotor wants to get hold of him." Pidge remarked quietly. "He covets anything he thinks belongs to the Princess."

"If he does, I am sure we'll be hearing from the creep right away," Keith replied briskly. "He'll use Antonio as a bargaining chip to get to the Princess, you can count on it."

~_Brilliant deduction, Captain! How many episodes did it take you to figure that one out?~_ The Brain thought with rancor. Of course, he had to admit his own plight was rather predictable as well, The Plan for Global Domination was in danger of failing again. But it had never involved Pinky being in harm's way...

"Well, what are we waiting for, let's go get the little guy!" Hunk exclaimed.

Keith shook his head. "We can't just go flying off half-cocked to Doom, Hunk. It could be a trap!" Or maybe they just got lucky. The Big Guy stared at the Captain. "All their RoBeasts are incapacitated after our last run in, what better time to go and whomp on the rest of the place?"

His leader thought a moment. "You know, you have a point there. Let's go for it!"

The rest of the team stared at Keith in astonishment. So did The Brain. ~_Well, I'll be a hamster's uncle!~_ The mouse thought. ~_The guy is breaking out of the script! He's improvising!~_

"No need to look so shocked, " The Black Lion pilot said defensively."I can be as impetuous as the next guy."

Allura blinked her big blue eyes before reaching over and patting the Captain's arm. A bright flush instantly stained his cheeks.

"I'm not shocked." She said. "I'm pleased."

"Nicely done, Captain Vengeance." Lance murmured. "Let's just hope you don't get us all killed on a whim."

Keith shot his friend a look, then he glanced back at the Princess, who was still gazing at him with admiration and something else glimmering in her limpid eyes. His flush grew deeper and he looked away.

The Brain rolled his eyes. For a battle-hardened warrior, Captain Keith was annoyingly coy. Watching him and Allura interact made his fillings hurt; good thing the Smirky Guy was there to keep things tart.

"You all right Chief? You're looking a mite feverish." Lance said, with a sly half smile.

"I'm fine," Keith responded brusquely.

Allura smiled at the two men, before becoming completely serious once again. Antonio Banderas was in dire peril. This was certainly no time for big kitten eyes and flirting.

"We'll need a special plan," Coran interjected suddenly. "The Doomian castle is heavily fortified."

"Right. Let's brainstorm and see what we can come up with, team. Then it's off to Doom!" Keith cried.

The rest of the team responded as one. "All right! Let's go, Voltron Force!"

~_Rah, Rah._~ The Brain thought, a couple of beats behind. His sarcasm was a reflex, as his thoughts were in a jumble. Pinky getting kidnapped was not conducive to the success of The Plan, but suddenly that didn't matter.

It was time to follow the Captain's lead, disengage all fail-safes, and see what the Voltron Force could do to save his friend.

* * *

On Planet Doom, a terrified Pinky found himself being carried by the Blue Cat into a creepy, cave-like room that smelled strongly of sulphur. It appeared to be a laboratory, but it bore little resemblance to the one he called home.

As his eyes adjusted to the ultra red lights, he could see the outline of a wizened figure, a long staff clutched in its clawed hand, hunched over a console holding a crystal ball, and numerous beakers containing solutions of some sort. A harsh muttering filled the air as whatever the entity was trying to do obviously failed.

"A curse on that Voltron Force and their enigmatic weapons! Those RoBeasts are still too pooped out to fight!"

The figure turned abruptly, and Pinky gasped. He knew this person- those glowing yellow eyes, green skin and extensive facial wart problem were a dead giveaway!

It was Hagar, the old witch!

The gangly mouse shuddered in revulsion as the Witch floated nearer to him. She was truly hideous looking in person, although he had to admit she appeared slimmer and younger than on the telly- it must be true what they said about the camera putting on years and weight on a body. Of course, that didn't apply to everyone. Case in point- the Brain's oversized cranium, and Princess Allura's stunning figure. Those were truthful depictions.

~_Egad! I wonder how I look like on T.V., I guess I'll have to watch myself watching T.V. and find out. Zort! Hm... now wouldn't that be an odd sight, really just like holding a mirror, in front of a mirror, in front of a mirror, in front of-...~_

The witch's wicked cackle unmercifully brought Pinky's wandering thoughts back to stark reality. "What have we here? A mouse from Castle Arus? Ah, well done, my pet! A confidante of the pretty Princess...let's see what he knows."

Pinky gulped and trembled as the clawed fingers reached out and detached him from the cat's mouth.

Back on Earth, watching the show, he'd often gotten a secret kick out of the witch...she had a wicked sense of humor, and he liked how she was able to put the evil Prince and the King in their places.

But this Haggar was scary. And not funny, no, not funny at all!

~_The Brain will help me! Voltron Force will save me!~_ He thought doggedly, before fainting dead away.

To be continued!


	7. Chapter 7

**Pinky, Voltron & the Brain**

A Crossover Literary Work of Shameless Fandom

By KittyLynne and The Bandit

**Chapter 7**

"What a waste of time and materials!" Witch Hagar lamented to her cat. "An exercise in futility! The workings of this vermin's mind remain a complete mystery to me, even though he can actually speak!"

She had spent the past hour acting as a pseudo-confidant to a mouse high on Anthraxian penathol. Alas, instead of vital information or even juicy tidbits of gossip, the mouse's ingestion of the costly potion had induced nothing but a speedy judgment on her part that somewhere a mouse village was missing its idiot.

Pinky snored and drooled on the tiny gurney to which she had strapped him. An occasional toot punctuated his snores, an unfortunate side effect of the potion that had been administered to him by his captress.

"He cares deeply for the Princess, but why is he constantly babbling about someone called 'The Brain'? There's no one residing in the castle that bears that title...unless it could be a reference to the brat that flies Green Lion."

Hagar circled the gurney and continued to mutter, half-aloud. "He doesn't know anything about the innards of Voltron, the Castle's defenses, or even the other mice that I don't already know. Perhaps he's a recent arrival and new to palace living? But how could he have gotten to Allura so quickly? He's a strange one- a laboratory experiment gone awry, or a discard of some kind; or more likely, he had the good fortune to be discovered and have those do-gooders rescue him from a castle exterminator."

The old witch scooped her cat into her arms, scratched behind the animal's ears with talon- like fingers, and then smoothed down the wiry blue fur; the feline's yellow orbs narrowed in pleasure at his mistress' deft touch. "Well, it appears our little captive's luck just ran out. Coba, my pet, you look hungry, would you like this tender morsel as a reward for your trouble in bringing him here?"

The cat purred his assent. The witch cackled dryly, and deposited her salivating familiar on the table next to the slumbering mouse. "He's all yours, pussycat. Bon appetit!"

Coba's fangs, so like his owner's, gleamed wickedly in the laboratory's dim light as he anticipated sinking his teeth into a rare treat: mouse sushi.

"Hagar! I must speak with you at once!"

For a moment, the imperious tone of the man entering her domain froze the sorceress and her pet in place. Then the witch sniffed with disdain, taking hold of her cat once more. It was prudent to hold on to Coba for the time being, or she'd end up throwing something at the arrogant donkey's patoot. How dare he come in here unannounced and uninvited, disturbing her private time!

The cruel looking but handsome son of King Zarkon strode toward her, dressed as usual in full battle regalia, the trademark bat-winged helmet firmly in place to hide the open secret of his receding hairline; the rest of the Prince's still luxuriant, snow-white hair trailed down his broad back and rippled in the breeze created by the movement of his hulking physique. His ochre eyes gleamed menacingly as they skewered the witch; Lotor's cheeks were darker than their customary light blue, and his sensually full upper lip was folded behind his lower one, both definite signs that the Crown Prince was not pleased.

He stopped in front of the sorceress, purposely towering over her hunched form in an attempt to intimidate her with his mass at least as much as she intimidated him with her dark magic.

Hagar confidently stood her ground. Shifting the kitty to her left arm, she casually reached for her magic staff-just in case he needed a reminder to respect his evil elder. Outwardly she smiled at Lotor, as if it pleased her to see him. "Prince Lotor, whatever brings you here today?"

Meh, as if she couldn't guess! Lotor had a virtual sonar system in his leggings when it came to finding out anything about that Arusian trollop!

"I heard from one of the drones that you have one of Princess Allura's prized pets in your claws, old woman. Why did you not notify me at once? You know I take a special interest in anything-" The Prince stopped his chastising of the hag to stare at the reclining rodent in front of them. "Yurack's balls, what sort of mutation is that? Hagar, have you been experimenting on the thing already? And without my consent?"

"Calm yourself my Prince, this is the creature's natural state." The witch informed him soothingly. "I discovered that he can talk, so I merely sent him into a state where I could ask him questions." She hesitated, then said in a very careful, very neutral tone, "it is unfortunate that despite his verbal ability, I have deduced that he is a complete simpleton. He holds no value to us, save that of a snack for Coba."

Annoyingly but not surprisingly, Lotor disagreed. "Not so, old witch! If he belongs to the Princess, then he is of great value, whether he knows anything about Voltron or not!"

Hagar scowled. "Sire, I really don't think-"

"Oh look, he's coming around." Lotor interrupted.

Pinky's eyelids fluttered and opened. He stared blearily at the ice blue features of the man standing over him, and as the identity of the visage registered, he sat up abruptly and squeaked. "LOTOR! NARF!"

The cruel looking man cut him off, confirming Pinky's worst fear. "I am indeed Crown Prince Lotor of Doom, and you are a prisoner of war! Do you understand?"

Pinky shrugged helplessly, his oversized eyes wide with fright.

"Do not attempt this foolish deception, we know you can speak the Common tongue, you did so with Hagar already." Lotor snarled, then smiled. "Come now, this doesn't have to be an unpleasant exercise. If you tell us what you know of the Princess Allura of Arus, I will release you, unharmed. If not, you will regret it for the rest of your short life. I am sure a lowly survivor of the gutter like yourself will know what to do to save his own skin."

"You're in love with the Princess!" Pinky blurted, totally throwing his interrogator off his game of intimidation. Lotor gaped, then quickly looked away, but not before the mouse had seen the Prince's blue skin darken to a deep violet shade, and his tormented expression.

"You are mistaken. She is merely a prize, and I want to add her beauty to my harem."

"Poit! Maybe that was what you wanted at first, but it's a lot more than that now." Pinky informed him seriously. "She's your dream girl, and you will stop at nothing to get her. You even saved her life a couple of times. Egad! You defied your father the King and turned down a marriage to another Princess because you love Allura and you want to marry her!"

The Prince's eyes opened wide. "This just happened this very day! How could your Arusian spies have known?"

"They don't." Pinky said. "I saw it myself."

Lotor was shocked. "You were on Arus! How could you possibly have-" He blinked, took a closer look at the mouse. Given how different this creature looked, it was possible that supernatural forces were in play. "Are you some sort of a seer?"

"Yes." Pinky nodded solemnly. "I saw it on my telly."

"What! Why didn't you tell me about that?" Hagar complained.

"Most probably because you didn't ask." Pinky said. "Poit."

"Does this telly tell you everything?" Lotor asked, after snickering at Hagar's chagrin.

Pinky nodded. "Pretty much. The rest I fill in with my imagination."

The Prince leaned forward. "So tell me, does Allura have feelings for me? Any at all? Does she talk about me? I would do anything for her, you know, I would lay my empire at her feet..."

Hagar shook her head. ~_Of course. Instead of trying to extract useful info, we're getting another 'what about Allura, what about me, what can I do, I must have the Princess for my own' monologue. ~_

As Lotor recited the litany of his unrequited love and delusional plans for marital bliss, the Prince's words became a faint 'wah-wah' sound in the background as the witch privately reflected the irony of the situation. Like the fact that if she still had use of white magic, she could've brought peace to the galaxy...or at the very least, whipped up a simple love potion for the besotted Prince and the object of his affections and give them a happily ever after ending. Not having to deal with Lotor's silly obsession was the single best incentive she ever had for considering letting her 'good self' out again.

Trouble was, the good side might decide to take control, and so she had never dared chance it.

Still, she was beginning to think it might be worth the risk as time went on. Lotor's speeches were mind-numbingly maudlin, and his obsession with impressing the Arusian blondie was keeping him off the throne... the old witch grudgingly tuned in to the scene before her and shook her head once again in disbelief as Lotor finished his passionate discourse- "And that's why Allura should be with me. And she will be mine, make no mistake about that!"

The Prince was unfazed by the embarrassing fact that he'd been rambling to a little white mouse. That the Royal Idiot wasn't discriminating about the manner of confessing his love for Arus' monarch was painfully clear; at this rate, he might just as well broadcast his weakness in all its variations on every viewscreen across the galaxy.

For his part, Pinky blinked at Lotor, amazed at finding someone who was an even bigger windbag than The Brain and even more obsessed over making far fetched plans that Pinky was sure wouldn't get him what he really wanted.

"So what say you, rodent? Tell me the truth about her feelings!" As Pinky looked anxious, Lotor added quickly, "It's inconceivable that she cares for that bombastic, mullet headed, white boot wearing, baby-faced commoner Captain Keith..." The Prince spat out his enemy's name like an epithet, and his hand rested on a sheathed dagger at his waist as he stared at his tiny prisoner. "I want to know how she feels about me! And I will know if you lie!"

The implied threat was more than obvious, even to Pinky, who gulped and grabbed his tail, twisting it between trembling paws. ~_Egads, this must be how those three poor blind chaps felt just before the farmer's wife chopped off their wee bitty tails!~_

So what to do? Lotor didn't want to hear a lie, but bad news could be equally fatal. But what could he say in this situation that wasn't bad and wouldn't be an obvious lie? The evil prince was capable of love- that was Lotor's one and only redeeming...well, if not redeeming, his one honest quality.

Princess Allura hated what Lotor was. She loathed him. But he was on her mind a lot...

Pinky decided he'd try to be honest without giving specifics.

"She talks and thinks about you quite a lot. She does have very strong feelings about you, Mr. Prince, Zort! Very, very strong."

The Prince's yellow eyes gleamed. "But not love. And I accept that. It's a fine line one walks between hate and love! If there's not love, I will settle for her abhorrence, for it is better to have earned that, rather than her indifference. She thinks of me, and she feels something! That means I matter!"

"Very true," Pinky said, not sure if Lotor was to be admired or pitied. "Insightful, you are."

"I prefer to be thought of as philosophic, it vexes my father." Lotor admitted with a smirk, while tapping his helmet with a forefinger. "And just think, rodent, there's even deeper stuff where that came from. Isn't that right, Hagar?"

~ _How deep can you pile bat guano?~_ Hagar thought with a silent cackle. "Indeed, Your Highness. You are a man of depth."

The Prince's expression turned reflective. "Perhaps if Allura knew about my intellectual side, she'd be more agreeable to our merger. If I show her I'm not just a handsome face, she may grow to appreciate me after marriage. Do you see this in my future, small one?"

Forgetting all about the dagger, and exactly who and what he was dealing with, Pinky said, "Well no, that won't happen, you know, because she's good and you are a bad man... and even when you try to turn good, it still won't work because you only do it to get her, and she loves another and feels that if you love her, you would be good for goodness' sake and wouldn't trick her or force her to-"

"Enough!" Lotor thundered. "Your prattle gives me a headache, although I am sure the Princess was unaccountably amused by it. Which means I now plan to see what Allura will sacrifice to get her pet back in one piece!"

"Petty blackmail? " Hagar grinned, her fangs glinting a brilliant white against her shadowed, leathery face. "Sounds like fun. May I accompany you to Arus to return Allura's lost pet, my Prince?"

"Why certainly, Old Witch! But first, you will do a small favor for me..."

The Prince leaned over and whispered into Hagar's ear- assuming she had one, no one on Doom knew for sure because a hood always covered her head. Witch Hagar's arm dropped in astonishment at what he said, and Coba fell to the ground with a startled mew. Tail twitching, he hissed and glared balefully at the Prince, who ignored the unhappy cat.

"Him? You can't be serious! He's too stupid, and flighty, and... well..." The crone shook her head and waved her index finger in a rapid, clockwise circle beside her head.

"I'm always serious! And as you well know, we have no others available to us at present!" Lotor barked. "Furthermore, using him will be a final, demoralizing blow to the rest of those insufferable Lion twerps! I command you to do my bidding, Hagar..." he paused to unsheath his sword, "...unless you'd like to take the rodent's place?"

"All right, all right, all right." The witch snapped. "Don't get your jock in a knot! I'll do it."

The Prince chuckled fiercely. "A wise decision."

As Pinky gaped at them with a fearful expression, Lotor's evil chuckle soon grew to a maniacal laugh, which bounced around the chamber. He glared at Hagar, who quickly joined in out of politeness rather than genuine amusement.

The mouse shuddered at the grating sounds, and covered his sensitive ears. ~_I don't like this, not one bit. And Lotor's laugh reminds me of Acme's Dr. X, the one who does all the alien autopsies. Of course Brain said they were fake, but I know better!~_

He gulped noisily as Lotor lifted him by the scruff of the neck. "But first, it's time for a chat with the fair Allura. Come, Witch."

They quickly exited the laboratory, leaving behind a disgruntled and hungry Blue Cat.

* * *

_Back at the Castle of Lions..._

"Incoming transmission from Planet Doom!" Coran warned the Voltron Force, Cheddar, and their sole remaining guest.

The Brain cast anxious eyes to the giant monitor, hoping for promising news.

The large view screen flickered and the hateful visage of Prince Lotor materialized.

"Hello Princess," he said smoothly. His eyes greedily drifted over her body. "So lovely. I always find the sight of you quite...stimulating."

Allura reddened in anger and embarrassment. "Lotor-"

Keith interrupted. "Cut the crap, Lotor, what do you want?

"The question is not what, but whom, Captain." The Doom Prince said coldly. "Peruse this- I possess one of the Princess' prized, perky pets."

~_Great alliteration_~ The Brain thought. ~_Bat winged helmet and skull belt buckle. Wonder if he writes goth poetry?~_

But idle speculation was forgotten in the instant the terrified features of Pinky filled the screen. The Brain gawked in dismay at the sight of his bound and gagged best friend and then glared in hatred and disgust at the smarmy Prince, an expression mirroring those of the humans around him. Cheddar quickly scooted over to lay a consoling paw on his shoulder.

"Antonio! Oh, are you all right?" Allura cried out.

Pinky smiled sadly and then vanished as Lotor reappeared.

"Antonio? My, such a refined name for such a bizarre creature." He mocked.

"You don't know the meaning of the word refined, you brute!" The Princess raged at him. "You are sinking to a new low, picking on poor defenseless mice! What's next? Pulling the wings off flies?"

"I think in a much larger scale than that, Allura my dear." The evil tyrant laughed. "Here's the deal- I will return, ah, Antonio, unharmed, if you agree to be my wife."

"What?!" Keith yelled, and lunged forward, but Hunk stopped him in his tracks with a restraining hand on his shoulder.

"Chill, Skipper. Losing your temper won't do anyone any good." The big man said calmly.

Silence fell as everyone stared at him in surprise, including Lotor.

"What?" Hunk asked. "Why are you all lookin' at me like that? Do I always have to be the hothead? Can't I be the voice of reason once in a while?"

A murmur of contrite phrases like 'of course you don't' and 'sure you can, nice job, Hunk' was heard until Lotor put a stop to it.

"I'm still waiting for an answer!" He bellowed, making his audience jump.

"Could you repeat the question?" Allura asked politely.

"I just asked you to marry me," Lotor replied, his expression softening. "If you would do me the honor of becoming my bride, Antonio will live in the lap of luxury as a royal pet to the Queen of the Denubian Galaxy."

Allura was not impressed. Her face darkened.

"Refuse me, and your mouse as you see him now will be history," the Prince added hastily.

The Princess gasped, her beautiful azure eyes filling with angry tears.

The Brain paled, no easy feat, as he was already white.

"Get lost, Creep!" Lance sneered. "This is a new low for you, threatening the life of a mouse to bargain for the Princess."

"I will not kill him." Lotor addressed the Princess, and totally ignoring Lance, knowing it was the one surefire way to aggravate the Red Lion pilot whose ego was almost as legendary as his own.

Lance took the bait. "Hey fancy pants, I'm talking to you! You can't just-"

"But if you do not accept my proposal, you will never see him again." Lotor went on, staring at Allura. "Is that something you can live with?"

"She doesn't have to live with it or you!" Lance yelled. "Try anything, and I will personally fly to Doom and-"

"Lance, be quiet!" Coran spoke quietly but his tone effectively silenced the Red Lion pilot's rant. "May she take some time to consider your request, sir?" He asked the Doom prince.

Lotor considered the request. "Of course."

"Thank you."

"She has ten minutes."

The Brain flinched. Ten minutes? Granted, it was longer than the usual commercial break, but how could they form a plan in ten minutes?

Oddly, Coran didn't seem upset or unnerved by the idea. The Brain's gaze narrowed. Was that a smile lurking beneath the mustache? Interesting. Maybe he had a plan. Maybe there was a secret weapon! Maybe there was hope!

Lotor's eyes had also narrowed at seeing the Royal Advisor's benign expression. "No tricks! I shall contact you when your time is up and you'd better have an answer!"

Coran severed the connection. All eyes turned to the Castle diplomat, who sat down and leaned back into the Ops command chair, in a thoughtful pose, fingers steepled under his chin. He was the Royal Advisor, battle tested and cool under fire. They waited, expectancy humming in the lines of their bodies, for the sage advice that would send them into action.

"Well." Coran said. "That escalated quickly."

* * *

"Get ready for stage two, Witch," Lotor growled.

"Aren't you going to wait for their answer, my Prince?" Hagar asked in mild surprise.

"I didn't like that smug look on old Bore-an's face," the Prince replied curtly. "Prepare the mouse!"

Pinky swallowed hard as he was placed on the transporter pad. Whatever the two Doomians had planned for him, he was sure it involved heaping helpings of discomfort and woe.

As a shower of sparks suddenly shot out of the shower- head- shaped device above him, he tried to run, only to find himself glued in placed by the lazon beam shining down upon his head. The next plan was to pass out, but he was distracted from that as he looked down at his feet, which seemed to be growing to an immense size.

He looked around, and found himself on eye level with the Prince, who was watching him with narrowed eyes and compressed lips. He was as tall as Lotor! Which could only mean one thing -they were making him into a giant sized mouse! Which normally would have been quite a spiffy and grand idea, except that this was Lotor and Hagar's plan, which meant they intended to use him to hurt his friends in some way.

No matter how neato it was to be large, no matter how spiffy he looked, he could never abide using his size to bully someone. It was, as Brain would have said, a completely and utterly unacceptable option.

Pinky clenched his paws as he continued to grow. He was unbearably scared, he couldn't stop the process, but he had to hang on, had to keep the essence of who he was, some vestiges of memory, no matter what he became. His gaze returned to his feet once more. The claws on his toes were huge, which prompted the memory of a lullaby, one his mother had squeaked to him when he was a newborn. He began to sing it, hoping it would bring him the means to hang on as well as some comfort as bolts of lazon beamed from the massive nozzles that surrounded him on all sides...

I have a magic toe-o-nail,  
I keep it on my foot,

It's always there when things get rough,  
or when they go KA-PUT!

It has the cutest cuticle,  
Free of all disease!  
As toenails go, it's really quite

Ex-tra-ordin-ar-y...

To be continued!


End file.
